Shares steady as Apple earnings near, oil eases

Global equities held steady in early trading as investors positioned ahead of Apple's upcoming earnings report, while oil prices eased. The easing in crude reduces near-term inflation pressure, which can support expectations that central banks will keep rate paths less restrictive, a channel that tends to weigh on the dollar and lift currencies such as the euro and yen relative to it. Nasdaq 100 futures and mega-cap technology names are most directly exposed to the Apple print, given the company's weight in the index and its read-through to supply chain and consumer demand for semiconductor peers including Nvidia, AMD and Intel. Gold typically benefits when real yields ease, while South Korea's KOSPI, with its large exposure to memory and chip exporters, is sensitive to shifts in tech sentiment. Traders will watch Apple's quarterly revenue guidance and iPhone unit commentary, along with the next US consumer price index release, for confirmation of whether the oil-driven disinflation narrative holds.

The Euro (EUR) is the currency of 20 European Union member states. Major EUR movers include ECB Governing Council decisions, Eurozone CPI prints, Bund/BTP spread events, and political risk from France, Germany and Italy.

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