In European Equity Markets stocks closed in negative territory on Monday as risk-off sentiment prevailed, with a negative note on carmakers and worries over Italian banks leading those sectors down. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.6 percent. Switzerland’s DKSH rose 8.9 percent after the services firm’s earnings growth and dividend beat market expectations. Unicredit finished down 6.9 percent, closely followed by Banco BPM, BPER and UBI, which fell between 5.9 percent and 5.5 percent. Volkswagen fell 1 percent, after Luxembourg opened criminal proceedings against the company over its diesel-test cheating, adding to its woes after its first big German customer announced it would sue.

In Currency Markets the euro fell to a one-week low against the dollar on Monday on concerns over French politics ahead of the presidential vote in April as well as other impending elections in Europe in a year of political uncertainty. In mid-morning trading, the euro fell 0.5 percent against the dollar to $1.0733. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 112.42 yen and had earlier fallen to 112 yen, its weakest level since late November. The Australian dollar was the other biggest mover among the G10 currencies after weak retail sales numbers. It was last down 0.6 percent at US$0.7636. Sterling was down 0.27 percent at $1.2450. The dollar index rose 0.36 percent to 100.05.

In Commodities Markets oil fell more than 1 percent on Monday as a stronger dollar, ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Brent futures were down 1.5 percent, at $55.93 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2 percent, to $53.16. Gold climbed on Monday to its highest in nearly three months as worries about the political landscape in the United States and Europe and a subdued dollar reinforced investor interest. Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,226.91 an ounce. Spot silver rose 0.7 percent to $17.58 an ounce while platinum gained 0.1 percent at $1,004.4 and palladium added 3.1 percent to $769.09.

In US Equity Markets stocks were little changed on Monday amid a lack of major catalysts, including economic data, and uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policies. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.01 percent, at 20,073.49. The S&P 500 was down 0.18 percent, at 2,293.18 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.12 percent, at 5,660.18. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index’s 0.67 percent fall leading the decliners. Hasbro jumped as much as 16.6 percent to a record high of $96.34 after the toymaker’s quarterly results beat expectations. Tiffany fell 2.1 percent as the upscale jeweler said its CEO has stepped down after what the company called disappointing financial results.

In Bond Markets U.S. short- and medium-dated Treasury yields hit their lowest levels in at least 13 days on Monday on mounting European political uncertainty and a dearth of information on U.S. President Donald Trump’s promised pro-growth policies. Benchmark 10-year Treasuries were last up 14/32 in price to yield 2.439 percent, while two-year notes were last up 2/32 in price to yield 1.173 percent. U.S. 30-year bonds last yielded 3.075 percent.