By Jamie McGeever
(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets.
Asian markets are set to open on the defensive on Monday, with heightened tensions in the Middle East spurring strong demand for safe-haven assets like the dollar, gold and U.S. Treasuries at the expense of stocks and local currencies.
Investor sentiment was already veering towards the negative following the U.S. bank earnings-driven equity market slump on Friday – JP Morgan shares had their biggest fall in almost four years and world stocks lost the most in six months.
U.S. stock futures are pointing to another steep decline at the open on Monday, so it’s likely Asian bourses will follow suit. Oil prices, which hit a six-month high on Friday, are likely to make further gains on Monday.
In such a febrile environment local Asian economic indicators and events are likely to take a back seat. Monday’s calendar is pretty…
