Asia stocks slip as gold slides, oil takes a spill

Asia stocks slip as gold slides, oil takes a spill

SYDNEY: Asian shares wobbled on Monday amid sharp losses in gold and oil prices, while the dollar reached four-month highs on the euro after an upbeat U.S. jobs report lifted bond yields. Sentiment was shaken by a sudden dive in gold as a break of $1,750 triggered stop loss sales to take it as low as $1,684 an ounce. It was last down 1.4% at $1,738. Brent also sank 2% on concerns the spread of the Delta variant would temper travel demand. Holidays in Tokyo and Singapore made for thin trading conditions, leaving MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei was shut but futures were trading 100 points below Friday's close. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.4% and S&P 500 futures 0.3%. Chinese trade data out over the weekend undershot forecasts, while figures out Monday showed inflation slowed to 1% in July offering no barrier to more policy stimulus. China's blue chips index were a fraction firmer. The U.S. Senate came closer to passing a $1 trillion infrastructure package, though it still has to go through the House. Investors were still assessing whether Friday's strong U.S. payrolls report would take the Federal Reserve a step nearer to