EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed in Tuesday trading. Mainland Chinese stocks slipped, as the Shanghai composite dipped 0.90%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.54%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.26%, Korean’s KOSPI went up 0.80% and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.09%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite led losses overnight among the major indexes stateside, falling 0.58% to 14,015.67. The S&P 500 also declined 0.37% to 4,483.87 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained unchanged to end at 35,091.13 points.
OIL
Oil prices eased on Tuesday, with some investors taking profits after signs of progress in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks could lead to the removal of sanctions on Iranian oil sales, increasing global supplies.
The Brent now traded at $92.55 per barrel, and the U.S. crude futures traded at $91.31 per barrel.
Overnight, both oil contracts have touched recent seven-year top. The Brent futures ends at $92.69 a barrel, while the WTI crude oil prices closed to $91.32 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries were steady near their highest levels since December 2019 scaled in the previous session, stayed at 1.9329% on Tuesday.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 95.534 — off levels around 95.2 seen late last week.
The Russian rouble recovered to a three-week high against the U.S. dollar as French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Moscow, seeking commitments from Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial down tensions with Ukraine.
GOLD
Gold climbed to a more than one-week high, supported by inflation worries and lingering geopolitical risks. Spot prices rose to $1,821.90 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures added to $1,822.60.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian equities were mixed in Tuesday trade, as the Chinese markets led losses regionally.
Global markets have continued to see a wave of volatility as investors continue to assess the outlook for factors such as central bank policy normalization, with expectations that fast-rising wages in the U.S. could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates even higher this year.
Markets are on alert for rate rises in both the eurozone and the U.S. after the ECB last week was considered to have adopted a more hawkish tone. The U.S. reported stronger-than-expected jobs and earnings data.
Geopolitics also remained a worry. The coming days will be crucial in the Ukraine stand-off, French President Emmanuel Macron said after a meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin, who suggested some progress had been made in the talks.
