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'Lucky' Sinner defeats big-hitting Berrettini to reach Wimbledon third round
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Messi a doubt for Argentina ahead of Copa quarter-final
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British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
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France film director Jacquot charged with raping two actors
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Israel 'evaluating' new Hamas 'ideas' on halting Gaza war
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Venezuela, US agree to 'improve relations,' says Caracas
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Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikes
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Thousands told to flee raging California wildfire
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Osaka focuses on Olympics after Wimbledon KO
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Tens of thousands flee south Gaza as tensions soar
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US Fed officials stressed 'patience' on rate cuts: minutes
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Blond not bombs as Fognini learns to love Wimbledon
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New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina
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Threads hits 175 mn users on first anniversary
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French court says Netflix shark hit can keep streaming in copycat row
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Comeback king 'Cav' to carry on doing the thing he loves
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Alcaraz marches on at Wimbledon as Osaka returns to Centre Court
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Biden under pressure as Democratic panic rises
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Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
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Alcaraz coasts into Wimbledon third round
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Cavendish makes Tour de France history with 35th stage win
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Everton sign forward Ndiaye from Marseille
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Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister
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World's oldest artwork discovered in Indonesian cave
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Toney urges England to kick on after Euros reprieve
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Murray teams up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles
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Former England rugby coach Jack Rowell dies aged 87
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Hurricane Beryl bears down on Jamaica
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US trade deficit expands less than expected in May: govt
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'The god took away my son': Indians grieve after deadly stampede
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Moscow hit by heat not seen in over a century
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US private hiring eases unexpectedly in June: ADP
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Confident Kroos says Germany-Spain clash 'won't be my last game'
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Paris bars to open 24h for Olympics opening ceremony
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Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit
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Germany, Sweden arrest eight over Syria crimes against humanity
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French giant Mpetshi Perricard joins Wimbledon heavy artillery
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Two-time Major winner Langer to make 'emotional' European Tour bow
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French PM urges united front to stop far-right takeover
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Olympic silver medallist gymnast Poujade dies at 51
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Bhole Baba: preacher at centre of Indian stampede disaster
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Microsoft to invest 2.2 bn euros in Spain data centres
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Showdowns, young guns and own goals as Euro 2024 head into quarter-finals
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Russia advances in east, kills five in Dnipro strikes
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France prosecutors request rape charges against film director
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Schumacher blackmail suspects had 'family photos'
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EU clears Lufthansa's proposed ITA Airways stake, with conditions
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Indian World Cup winners head home after hurricane delay
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120,000 'stolen' babies: Georgia's trafficking scandal
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Only far right can win absolute majority, French PM warns
Asian stocks drop after tepid Wall St lead, euro dips further
Asian markets fell Monday to extend last week's losses, with traders trying to assess the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates, while the euro was weighed by political uncertainty as France prepared for a snap parliamentary election.
While data showed US inflation slowed in May, providing fresh hope that the central bank will cut interest rates this year, optimism was tempered by policymakers' paring of expectations for how many would be made.
And over the weekend, Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said officials need not rush to loosen policy, while his Cleveland counterpart Loretta Mester remained concerned that inflation could still pick back up.
Meanwhile, the spike in prices is having an impact on consumer sentiment, with a gauge hitting a seven-month low in June, figures showed.
The Fed now sees just one rate cut this year, while analyst opinion varies from zero to three.
Traders are now awaiting the release of a US retail sales report as well as inflation figures and central bank policy decisions in various countries over the next five days.
While the Nasdaq chalked up yet another record high, Wall Street provided a tepid lead with the S&P 500 and Dow both down.
Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok, Seoul and Wellington all dropped, though Hong Kong edged up.
London, Frankfurt and Paris all rose at the open.
Several markets including Jakarta, Mumbai and Singapore were closed for holidays.
There was little reaction to May Chinese data showing retail sales beating expectations -- boosting hopes for an improvement in consumer activity -- but industrial production grew less than forecast and house prices fell further.
- 'Angst' over France '
The euro faced further pressure from the dollar owing to concerns about the upcoming polls in France, which President Emmanuel Macron called after his party lost out to the far-right National Rally (RN) in EU-wide elections last weekend.
The move has fanned fears about instability in Europe's second-biggest economy, and observers said France could be on course for a standoff with the EU if extremists win.
Left-wing parties including the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialist, Communist and Green parties said they had agreed -- despite long-running policy differences -- on an election alliance to fight RN and its leader Marine Le Pen.
The group has drawn up a manifesto that reverses a number of Macron's reforms over the past seven years, while pushing back against the EU's fiscal pact governing debt and deficits.
"Uncertainty over the extent to which the far right RN party will have effective control of the next French parliament after July 7 will be an ongoing source of market angst in the coming two to three weeks," said Ray Attrill at National Australia Bank.
Worries about the election hammered Paris stocks last week, pushing them down more than two percent Friday, which weighed on other European bourses.
- Key figures around 0715 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.8 percent at 38,102.44 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 17,951.90
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,015.89 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,175.07
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0695 from $1.0708 on Friday
Euro/pound: UP at 84.42 pence from 84.38 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.31 yen from 157.37 yen
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2672 from $1.2689
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.6 percent at $78.00 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $82.12 per barrel
New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,589.16 (close)
N.Esteves--PC