U.S. Dollar Rises With Ruble Amid Holiday Lull: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. dollar and Russia’s ruble advanced in thin trading on a day when most markets worldwide are closed for a holiday.

Saudi Arabian shares declined for a third straight day, with volume at 30 percent below the gauge’s 30-day average. Turkish stocks rose to the highest level in about seven weeks on a closing basis, while equities in Oman retreated for a fifth day. China’s onshore yuan rallied to the strongest level in more than three months. Bitcoin swung between gains and losses.

Most markets across Asia, Australia, Europe and the U.S. are closed for Christmas. While exchanges in the Middle East are among a handful open globally, trading typically thins because expatriates, who make up about half of the Gulf’s population, travel during the holiday period.

China can achieve a goal of doubling the size of its economy by 2020 even if annual expansion slows to 6.3 percent, Yang Weimin, an official from the Communist Party committee overseeing economic policy, said over the weekend, according to the official Yinhua News Agency. China is seen growing 6.8 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2018, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

North Korea rejected tighter United Nations sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear expansion, describing the move as an “act of war” and vowing retribution on U.S. sympathizers who approved it. The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions Friday targeting North Korea’s economy after the launch of a ballistic missile last month.

Global stocks capped a fifth weekly advance on Friday, while U.S. Treasuries posted their biggest weekly loss since September, as Congress passed a sweeping tax bill and data pointed to economic vitality, raising the prospect of reduced central bank stimulus.

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Abu Dhabi’s ADX gauge climbed 0.3 percent, ending a four-day losing streak, the longest in more than a month. Speculative trading on Dana Gas shares sent the volume soaring to almost four times the gauge’s 30-day average
• The Vietnam Stock Index added 0.6 percent to the highest level since Dec. 4
• Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul 100 Index rose 0.5 percent, poised for the strongest close since Nov. 8
• The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 0.5 percent
• Oman’s MSM30 Index decreased 0.6 percent to the lowest level in two months

Currencies

• Bitcoin declined 3.1 percent as of 2:15 p.m. in London, poised to extend its losing streak to five days. It advanced as much as 2.7 percent on Monday, erasing losses of as much as 12 percent
• The euro lost 0.8 percent to $1.1766
• The ruble strengthened 0.7 percent to 57.9650 per dollar
• The onshore yuan added 0.5 percent to 6.5408 per dollar as the People’s Bank of China boosted its daily reference rate for the currency to the strongest level in three months
• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.5 percent

Commodities

• Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 0.4 percent on Monday, paring an earlier gain of as much as 1.4 percent

--With assistance from Arif Sharif

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Redmond in Tokyo at tredmond3@bloomberg.net, Dana El Baltaji in Dubai at delbaltaji@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Sutherland at jsutherlan13@bloomberg.net, Torrey Clark, Dana El Baltaji

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