Market Buzz: A rather laid-back Monday

No sudden moves are expected today on the markets as investors worldwide will mainly focus on general news background.

Russian markets are expected to open in the red despite having closed in positive territory on Friday. Two key Russian indices finished in the green, with the RTS gaining 1.14% and the MICEX up 1.10%.Asian markets are higher today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares show gains. The Shanghai Composite is up 0.23% and the Hang Seng rose 0.01%. The Nikkei 225 is closed for a holiday.Oil prices slid on Monday, with Brent losing 0.27% and Light down 0.34%.“Weak dynamics in Asian markets and a decline in world oil prices traditionally affect Russian stock exchanges, so I expect Russian indices to open with losse,” Yulia Voytovich of Investcafe explained.However, European markets traded mixed. The FTSE 100 gained 0.36%, while the DAX dropped 0.43% and the CAC 40 lost 0.07%.North and South American stocks also failed to show positive dynamics, but managed to finish mainly in green. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 gained 0.39% and 0.34%, respectively, while the NASDAQ slid 0.04%.“Today will not bring much in macroeconomic statistics, so no sudden moves on the markets are expected. Investors worldwide will mainly focus on general news background,” Voytovich said.