With no covid-19 cases reported in China since the start of August, Asian shares were able to catch a breather reversing losses made last week. Market sentiment however remained a little dim with lower liquidity levels in the market. China’s regulatory measures are still spooking investors and so the mood remains cautious.

On Wall Street, all 3 major indices also broke the losing streak and ended in the green on Friday with tech and utilities leading with gains. Stocks like Tencent Music Entertainment and Didi Global rose around 1.6% while Alibaba lost 1.6%.

From the Currency market, the dollar hovered near its peak from Friday but edged down 0.17% to 93.35. The USD hit fresh peaks against most major peers on Friday at 93.70.

Other currencies like the AUD/USD and NZD/USD gained. The risk-sensitive AUD has been off in the past week but was able to regain some ground this morning to levels of 0.716.

Lastly, the oil pared losses after having its worst week on the back of rising concerns on the Delta Variant. Pil was up 70 cents to top $65 while WTI was steady at $62.71.