Oil prices surged to their highest since July 2015 on Monday as Saudi Arabia`s crown prince cemented his power with a crackdown on corruption, while shares worldwide were little changed and key currencies stayed in tight ranges.

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Prince Mohammed`s reforms include a plan to list parts of state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco next year, with higher oil prices seen as beneficial for the market capitalization of the future listed company.

The crackdown spurred concerns of Middle Eastern money pulling out of global financial markets. A weekend call by China`s central bank governor for tougher financial regulation also hit global investor sentiment.

The MSCI world equity index , which tracks shares in 47 countries, rose 0.11 percent.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.13 percent higher. Saudi Arabia`s own stock market fell as much as 1.5 percent before ending 0.1 percent higher, boosted in part by government-linked fund buying. [EMRG/FRX]

Sentiment toward the U.S. dollar was positive, with leveraged funds paring bearish bets to be net long for the first time since late July. [IMM/FX]

"There is some ongoing adjustment in market expectations on the dollar`s outlook on the progress of the U.S. tax bill and on the ongoing Saudi situation but market moves have been in narrow ranges," said Alberto Gallo, head of macro strategies at Algebris Investments in London.NASDAQ AT PEAK

All three major U.S. equity indexes closed at record highs, with investors focused on what could be the biggest merger ever in the technology sector.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index hit a record high above its 6,786.436 close following news that chip maker Broadcom Ltd http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)