In Asian Equity Markets stocks were lower on Monday as Chinese leaders headed into an annual parliament meeting while in Italy, exit poll projections indicated that no party is emerging with a clear majority in Sunday’s election. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.97 percent in afternoon trade, while the Topix index was down 1.08 percent. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was down 1.02 percent. Chinese mainland markets fell, with the Shanghai composite down 0.16 percent. The Shenzhen composite wavered between gains and losses to trade up 0.11 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 1.13 percent.

In Currency Markets the euro clawed back earlier losses on Monday but remained prone to volatility as initial results in Italian elections pointed to stronger-than-expected showing for euro-skeptic parties, with no major party blocs winning an outright majority. The common currency found some support as Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) decisively backed another coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives. The euro traded at $1.2320, slightly above its late U.S. levels, off its seven-week low of $1.21545, which it touched on Thursday. The dollar was softer against the yen at 105.52 yen, near Friday’s 16-month low of 105.24.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose early on Monday ahead of a meeting between OPEC and U.S. shale firms in Houston, raising expectations that oil producers would discuss further how to clear a global oil glut. International benchmark Brent crude was up 44 cents, or 0.68 percent, at $64.81 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 41 cents, or 0.67 percent, to $61.66 per barrel. Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other global oil players are set to gather in Houston as CERAWeek, the largest energy industry conference, begins on Monday.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 ended another turbulent week on an upbeat note Friday, but major indexes posted their worst week of losses since early February as President Donald Trump’s threat to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium rattled investors. Shares of big U.S. steel companies and manufacturers were under pressure on uncertainty over the effects of tariffs. Shares in Caterpillar, a buyer of raw materials and a big exporter of construction machinery products, were down 2.6 percent after falling 2.8 percent in the previous day’s session. General Motors was down 1 percent.  the S&P 500 gained 0.51 percent, to 2,691.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added1.08 percent, to 7,257.87.

In Bond Markets speculators’ net bearish bets on U.S. 10-year Treasury note futures rose to a one-year high earlier this week as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s upbeat remarks on the economy raised bets on a faster pace of interest rate hikes, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The amount of speculators’ bearish, or short, positions in 10-year Treasury futures exceeded bullish, or long, positions by 342,889 contracts on Feb. 27, according to the CFTC’s latest Commitments of Traders data. A week earlier, speculators held 214,480 net short positions in 10-year T-note futures.