Stocks stutter, oil jumps on Mideast escalation worries
LONDON (Reuters) -World stock markets turned cautious on Monday as optimism that U.S. interest rates are coming soon was tempered by concern over increased tensions in the Middle East, with oil prices rising over 1.5%. U.S. stock futures were a touch firmer, European shares were a tad weaker, and trading was subdued with the London market closed for a UK public holiday. In a highly-anticipated speech to the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell said the time had come to start easing policy and emphasised the central bank did not want to see further weakening in the labour market.