In European Equity Markets indices closed lower Monday following a session of heavy selling stateside last week. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.6 percent during a shortened session before the Christmas holidays, while the French CAC 40 fell 1.5 percent. Germany’s DAX and the Italian FTSE MIB were not open on Monday. In corporate news, BMW was hit by the South Korean government with a 11.2 billion won ($9.96 million) fine on Monday, and faces a complaint over allegedly delaying recalls and concealing defects that resulted in engine fires in the country.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell against the euro and Japanese yen on Monday as concerns about the possibility of a prolonged government shutdown and weak equity markets reduced demand for the greenback. Trading volumes were thin on Monday with Japan closed and most global markets preparing to shut for the Christmas holiday on Tuesday. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies fell 0.39 percent to 96.577. It has fallen from a one-and-a-half-year high of 97.711 on Dec. 14.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Monday, nearing their lowest level this year, in line with another decline across global stock markets, which came under pressure from concern about a U.S. government shutdown and a worsening world economy. Brent crude futures were down 58 cents at $53.24 a barrel, having fallen from a session high of $54.66, while U.S. crude futures fell 90 cents to trade at $44.69. The price of oil has already fallen by more than 30 percent so far this quarter.

In US Equity Markets indices fell on Monday, as the U.S. government shutdown threatens to spill into the next year and the White House moves into fire-fighting mode amid what is already the S&P 500’s worst December since the Great Depression. The S&P 500 fell 1.71 percent, at 2,375.20 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.39 percent, at 6,245.14. All the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, and all the 30 components of the Dow Industrials were in the red, pushing them closer to bear territory.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday with 10-year yields hovering near eight-month lows as investors who have been unsettled by dramatic stock market losses and further U.S. interest rate increases piled more money into low-risk government debt. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 3 basis points at 2.7632 percent. It fell to 2.7480 percent last Thursday, which was the lowest since April 4.