RECORD RUN

The year-long global surge in stocks, driven by the pick-up in growth, corporate profits and still ultra-low interest rates, was set to see MSCI’s 47-country ‘All World’ index .MIWD00000PUS top the 2003 run of 11 straight months of gains. 

Wall Street was expected to start fractionally higher following a dip from the last round of record highs on Monday [.N]. 

MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS had ended up 0.4 percent, as strong gains in South Korea and Taiwan, which make up roughly a quarter of the index’s weighting, offset weakness in China and Hong Kong. 

Chinese data had shown a sharper-than-expected slowdown in October factory growth.

Beijing’s war on winter air pollution is forcing many northern steel mills, smelters and factories to curtail production, adding to uncertainty amid early signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. 

South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 ended up 1 percent at a record high after Seoul and Beijing agreed to normalize relations that have been strained by a year-long standoff over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. 

Tech-heavy Taiwan .TWII added 0.4 percent after Apple (AAPL.O) made big gains overnight on hopes of strong demand for its new range of iPhones. 

Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed flat, capped by the overnight weakness in U.S. shares and a stronger yen. The Bank of Japan meanwhile stressed it saw no reason to end its mass stimulus program. 

The dollar's rebound ahead of U.S. trading pulled it off a 10-day low of 113.02 yen JPY= struck after details of charges for former Trump aides were disclosed. It was last at 113.32 yen. 

The euro was softer at $1.1637 EUR=. It had pulled back overnight from a three-month low of $1.1574 on Friday. 

Among commodities, crude oil prices steadied below their recent peaks after being boosted by expectations OPEC-led production cuts would be extended beyond March. [O/R] 

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 0.1 percent at $60.80 a barrel after rising to $61 overnight, the highest since July 2015. 

U.S. crude CLc1 was 0.15 percent lower at $54.10 after touching $54.46, its highest since late February.

Spot gold XAU= was also a fraction lower at $1,274 per ounce. It has shed about 0.3 percent so far in October, in what could be its second straight monthly decline.