Fast Asia Open: RBA rates decision, Taiwan trade data

Oil has surged above $64 a barrel to the highest level in two years after Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on dozens of princes and business tycoons raised concerns about stability and policymaking in the world’s largest crude exporter.

The sharp move in Brent crude, the international benchmark, came shortly after Saudi officials warned that they had found “widespread corruption” among the suspects detained in the weekend sweep and threatened to freeze assets of those being held.

Crude was on an upward trend even before Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his purge, which has included the detention of billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, whose holdings include stakes in Citigroup, Apple and 21st Century Fox. The crackdown was widely seen as a move to consolidate Prince Mohammed’s power as next in line to the throne.

On Wall Street overnight, strong gains for energy stocks and a burst of deal activity in the tech sector helped equities indices inch to fresh record highs in early trade, although the underlying mood was one of caution.

In Asia Pacific equities, futures tip Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 index to gain 0.5 per cent at the open, while Tokyo’s Topix is set to dip 0.1 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is expected to rise 0.1 per cent when trading begins.

Corporate earnings reports out today include Toyota Motor, NTT Data, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Mitsubishi Motors, Kepco, Singapore Airlines and Cipla.

The economic calendar for Tuesday has all the latest bells and whistles (all times Hong Kong):

• 08.00: Japan labour cash earnings
• 09.00: Philippines consumer price index
• 10.00: Sri Lanka interest rates decision
• 11.30: Reserve Bank of Australia interest rates decision
• 13.30: Australia foreign exchange reserves
• 15.00: Malaysia foreign exchange reserves
• 16.00: Taiwan consumer and wholesale price indices, imports, exports and trade balance
• Foreign exchange reserves data for China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines are also slated for release today.