Asian shares open lower as oil retreats from six-month highs

Asian shares opened cautiously on Monday as oil prices eased from six-month highs ahead of a week of central bank meetings and corporate earnings that will test confidence in the AI boom. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.8 percent and South Korea dropped 0.4 percent, while MSCI's Asia-Pacific index outside Japan slipped 0.1 percent. Brent crude declined 1 percent to US$115.48 amid reports of Qatari mediation efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, after jumping 6.2 percent last week on Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. Central banks meeting this week face inflationary pressure from oil, with New Zealand expected to raise rates and markets pricing an 80 percent chance of a US Federal Reserve hike in December. Earnings from hyperscalers Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon will test AI-driven valuations, with Microsoft revenue seen at US$90.6 billion and Amazon at US$202 billion. Ten-year Treasury yields held at 5 percent, the yen traded at 157 per dollar, and gold was firm at US$4,001 an ounce after falling over 4 percent last week.