World Shares Rises On Factory Data, Dollar Gain On Election Jitters

The VIX volatility index, which rose to its highest in four months last week, eased almost half a point to 37.55.

Renewed lockdowns in Europe and parts of the United States have dimmed the outlook for fuel consumption, keeping crude prices well under $40 a barrel.

Brent crude futures rose $0.16 to $38.1 a barrel. U.S. crude futures gained $0.16 to $35.95 a barrel.

Brent earlier had slumped to $35.74 a barrel, a level not seen since late May. U.S. crude slid as low as $33.64. [O/R]

Coronavirus cases surged last week with Europe crossing the bleak milestone of 10 million total infections, while a record surge in U.S. cases is killing up to 1,000 people a day.

In currencies, the UK pound fell 0.3% to $1.2902 after hitting its lowest in almost four weeks on news of the national lockdown. The euro was last down 0.11%, at $1.1634.

The Japanese yen weakened 0.18% versus the greenback to 104.82 per dollar.

Spot gold prices rose 0.64% to $1,890.01 an ounce.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 2.2 basis points to 0.8367%.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor