Global markets took a collective hit overnight from the violent unrest gripping Hong Kong.

An early sell-off on Wall Street stemmed from pro-democracy clashes in Hong Kong, which pushed the Hang Seng Index down two percent yesterday.

Confidence received a much needed shot in the arm following the release of better-than-expected US consumer spending data, helping the major US indices climb off the session lows.

In Europe, markets had to contend with not only the Hong Kong riots, but data that revealed eurozone business and consumer confidence in September fell to its lowest level since late last year.

Crude oil rebounded following the release of upbeat US consumer spending data, fuelling hopes that energy demand will also strengthen.

Gold logged a modest gain, as skittish traders bid up the precious metal in response to the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Conversely, iron ore was battered again after weekend data revealed a big drop in Chinese industrial profits last month.

In currency markets, the greenback was generally stronger against its major rivals, as traders look ahead to key US employment data later this week.

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