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A look at the day ahead in European and global markets

By Tom Westbrook, Chief Correspondent

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Asia carried on Wall Street’s overnight rally but with less enthusiasm while headline news from the Middle East offered little sign of the deadly conflict calming down.

U.S. and European equity futures were flat, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.7%.

British wages data, U.S. retail sales figures and corporate earnings are the calendar items in focus.

Israeli soldiers stand near to a tank near Israel’s border with Lebanon in northern Israel, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

On the diplomatic front, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing to showcase his “no-limits” partnership with China, while U.S. President Joe Biden is set to visit Israel.

Investors see risk that Israel’s escalating retaliation against Hamas could draw Iran into battle, with global consequences, but have so far mostly limited their display of anxiety to buying oil futures and selling Israeli assets.

Tel Aviv shares are down nearly 9% for the month and the shekel has weakened beyond the psychological 4-per-dollar mark.

Other safety plays, however, have started to unwind with the yen ticking back toward 150-to-the-dollar and gold nudging off a three-week high.

In China, where gross domestic product data is due on Wednesday, Country Garden was on the brink of a possible offshore default.

Graphics are produced by Reuters.

Tuesday is the end of a 30-day grace period for the country’s largest developer on a $15 million overdue offshore coupon payment, and missing its obligation would highlight the depth of the confidence crisis gripping the sector.

Reuters reported China’s civil servants and state-enterprise employees face tighter travel constraints, as Beijing wages a campaign against foreign influence.

Tuesday also brought mixed signals from Australia and New Zealand, with surprisingly hawkish minutes from this month’s Reserve Bank of Australia meeting lifting the Aussie dollar a little.

The kiwi slipped after a slowdown in inflation signalled further hikes there are now even less likely.

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