- Oil prices hover at two-week highs
- Investors eyeing more consumption-led stimulus from China
- U.S. futures slide on recession worries
SINGAPORE, March 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices struck a two-week high on Monday, U.S. stock futures slid while those in Asia charged higher as investors weighed up the contrasting fortunes between the United States and the rest of the world.
The week is a busy one with a series of central bank policy meetings, including by the U.S. Federal Reserve. It is widely expected to keep rates on hold when its meeting concludes on Wednesday.
Over the weekend the U.S. defence secretary said the country would continue attacking Yemen's Houthis until they ended attacks on shipping, sending oil prices sharply higher in early Asia trade on Monday as investors worried about disruptions to supply.
Brent futures and U.S. crude futures surged more than 1% in morning trade, before paring some of those gains on the prospect of an imminent end to the Ukraine war, which could bring more Russian energy supplies back to Western markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and discuss ending the war in Ukraine, after positive talks between U.S. and Russian officials in Moscow.
Brent futures were last up 0.61% at $71.01 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures rose 0.63% to $67.60 a barrel.
Elsewhere, futures pointed to a positive open in Europe.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.04%, while DAX futures advanced 0.22%. FTSE futures rose 0.15%.
European stocks and its currency have in recent times drawn support from Germany's fiscal reset plan spanning a 500 billion euro ($540 billion) fund for infrastructure and changes to borrowing rules.
The country's parliamentary budget committee on Sunday approved the bill, which will be voted upon in the lower house of Germany's parliament on Tuesday and by the upper house on Friday.
The euro was perched near a five-month high on Monday and last bought $1.0883.
"The idea of Germany's fiscal loosening being more in the (euro)'s price will be assessed on Tuesday when the Bundestag votes on the package. It would be very (euro) negative if it fails to pass," said Paul Mackel, global head of FX research at HSBC.
In China, data on Monday showed retail sales growth quickened in January-February in a welcome sign for policymakers, though joblessness rose and factory output eased.
Shares hardly reacted to the mixed data as investors awaited a press conference later in the day from Beijing's top planning agency and elsewhere for more details on measures to boost consumption.
The CSI 300 blue-chip index last traded 0.26% lower, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.2%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 0.9%.
China's State Council unveiled on Sunday a slew of measures including increasing residents' income and establishing a childcare subsidy scheme aimed at boosting domestic consumption.
That came just days after the country's financial regulator promised to properly relax consumer credit quotas and loan terms as it offers long-term backing to make available large sums.
"We think this year's attention to boosting consumption, combined with last year's relatively low base, will help consumption growth recover to mid-single-digit growth in 2025. Further upside would likely hinge on a sustainable recovery of consumption," said Lynn Song, ING's chief economist for Greater China.
The yuan was last firm at 7.2384 per dollar in the onshore market.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan , climbed 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.93%.
U.S. DRUBBING
While Asia stocks started the week on a strong note, over in the United States, futures pointed to a dour opening on Wall Street.
Nasdaq futures were down 0.71%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.63%.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview that aired on Sunday that there are "no guarantees" there will not be a recession in the United States, adding to investor worries of an impending economic downturn.
A week earlier, Trump had declined to predict whether the U.S. could face a recession amid concerns about his tariff salvo.
"When you've got the top two - President Trump and his right-hand man in terms of economic affairs - refuse to rule out a recession, it does warn us that there's more rocky times ahead," said IG's Sycamore.
"And it suggests to me that they're willing to take this short-term pain for a longer-term win."
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar languished near a five-month low at 103.72.
Investor nerves and angst over the unpredictability of Trump's policies and their potential impact on U.S. growth have hampered the greenback, which has fallen more than 4% for the year so far.
The yen eased slightly to 148.85 per dollar, ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy meeting this week where it is expected to keep rates on hold, though most economists expect further policy tightening later this year.
Elsewhere, gold hovered near a record high and was last at $2,990.36 an ounce, having broken through the key $3,000 barrier for the first time on Friday as investors piled on to an historic rally in the safe-haven asset.
Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Kate Mayberry & Shri Navaratnam
Source: Reuters