EQUITIES
Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Tuesday as investors weigh economic concerns. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.86%, while the mainland Shanghai Composite was almost flat, losing 0.06%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.29%, the Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.53%, and in South Korea, the KOSPI climbed 0.30%.
Overnight in the U.S., the major indexes fell following a major rebound on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, to 31,438.26, the S&P 500 lost 0.30%, to 3,900.11 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.72%, to 11,524.55.
OIL
Oil continued to rise with investors still weighing worries over an economic slowdown against concern over lost Russian supply amid sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.
The Group of Seven nations promised to tighten the squeeze on Russia's finances with new sanctions that include a plan to cap the price of Russian oil.
Another prospect of more supply tightness also looms after the United Arab Emirates' energy minister said the nation is producing near capacity, countering expectations that it could help boost supply in a tight market. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been seen as the only two countries in the OPEC with spare capacity available to make up for lost Russian supply and weak output from other member nations.
Brent crude futures jumped 0.96%, to $116.66 a barrel, adding to a 1.7% rise in the previous session. While the U.S. WTI crude futures climbed $1.07, or 1%, to $110.9 a barrel, extending a 1.8% gain in the previous session.
Producer nations in OPEC+ will meet on Thursday, where the group will likely stick to a plan for accelerated oil output increases in August.
CURRENCIES
The U.S. dollar edged lower versus its major rivals as investors weighed expectations on inflation and rate hikes. The dollar index was down at 103.968.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes last reached 3.183% on Tuesday, compared with its U.S. close of 3.194% on Monday. The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 3.0974% compared with a U.S. close of 3.123%.
GOLD
Gold prices were steady in the absence of market-moving catalysts. The price was bumped higher on Monday by the news of some Western nations planning to ban imports of the metal from Russia.
It however, quickly losing momentum to end the session lower, as the move is being seen as largely symbolic within the global bullion market as Russian exports to the West have already dried up.
Spot gold held its ground at $1,825.50 per ounce. U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,824.50.
Spot silver fell 0.4% to $21.06 per ounce and platinum eased 0.3% to $905.04, while palladium rose 0.7% to $1,883.69.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Shares in Asia were mixed on Tuesday, with few catalysts to sway investor sentiment as they approach the half-way point of a year in which the equity markets have been slammed by heightened inflation worries and tightening Fed policy.
Moves were modest as traders try and navigate between relief that signs of weakness in recent global economic data can moderate rate hikes and worry that it could be a harbinger of the onset of a difficult period of stagflation.
