EQUITIES

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower in Tuesday trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.01%, South Korea’s KOSPI dipped 0.52%, the Straits Times index in Singapore shed 0.13%, and the S&P BSE Sensex in India was down 0.32%.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.83%,and the mainland Chinese Shanghai composite up slightly.

Markets in Japan are closed for a holiday.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite retreated from all-time highs after President Biden tapped Powell to continue as Fed chair, and Lael Brainard, the other top candidate for the job, as vice chair. The S&P 500 slipped 0.32% to 4,682.94, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.26% to 15,854.76, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 17.27 points higher to 35,619.25.

OIL

Oil prices dropped on Tuesday, reversing gains in the previous session, on growing talk the U.S., Japan and India will release crude reserves to lower energy prices.

The U.S. Department of Energy is expected to announce a loan of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Tuesday, and will be coordinated with other countries, a Biden administration source familiar with the situation said, though did not specify how much oil would be released from the stockpiles. Under an SPR swap, oil companies take crude oil from the stockpiles but are required to return it - or the refined product - plus interest.

The Brent now traded at $79.34 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $76.24 per barrel.

Brent and WTI both rose 1% on Monday on reports that the OPEC+ could adjust their plan to raise oil production if large consuming countries release crude from their reserves or if the pandemic dampens demand. The Brent futures ends at $79.70 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $76.75 per barrel.

CURRENCIES

U.S. Treasury yields were led higher by two-year notes, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations. It hit its highest level since early March 2020. The two-year U.S. Treasury yields rose after President Joe Biden tapped Jerome Powell to continue as Federal Reserve chair. Powell's nomination drove expectations that the central bank will stay the course on tapering economic support.

The U.S. rates chatter kept the dollar index traded little changed at 96.553, staying well supported near a 16-month peak.

The strong dollar and slightly softer oil prices weighed on commodity currencies.

GOLD

Spot gold rose 0.19% to $1,808.00 per ounce on Tuesday, paring Monday's losses.

Spot silver was unchanged at $24.29 per ounce. Platinum rose 0.73% to $1,022.50, and palladium jumped 1.71% to $1,984.00.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Asia stocks were mostly lower on Tuesday, tracking a retreat on Wall Street after President Joe Biden picked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lead the central bank for a second term, reinforcing expectations the U.S. will taper its stimulus soon.

U.S. President Joe Biden chose Powell over the other leading candidate Lael Brainard, who markets consider to be the more dovish of the two, though Brainard will be Fed vice chair. This would mean continuity in policymaking, reinforced market expectations of rate rises next year when the central bank finishes tapering its emergency bond buying programme. The U.S. dollar also received a further boost overnight on the news.

Technology, financial, and energy stocks have been shaken up again, as surging COVID-19 cases in Europe dousing investor hopes of a quicker recovery in consumption and growth worldwide.

In technology stocks, Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent fell 2.71% while Alibaba slipped 3.06% and Meituan plunged 3%. The Hang Seng Tech index declined by about 1.7%. South Korea’s LG Electronics shed 4.48% and Kakao dropped 2.33%.