Australian Market

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index closed 1.65% higher. Commodity stocks led widespread gains as the benchmark index shrugged off a weak lead by U.S. indices and the Reserve Bank of Australia’s latest interest-rate rise. Gold, iron-ore and lithium stocks all rose as the materials sector added 2.6%. Shares of energy producers also rose.

US Market 

U.S. stocks slipped as investors considered the trajectory of interest-rate increases ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rates decision on Wednesday. The S&P 500 eased 0.4% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.9%.

The central bank is widely expected to announce another 0.75-percentage-point rate increase at the end of its two-day monetary-policy meeting. Some Fed officials have signaled they could consider a smaller half-point rate lift in December.

Commodities

Gold futures ended higher, recovering some of their recent losses, after posting a seventh straight monthly decline in October. Gold drew strength from earlier weakness in the dollar and falling Treasury yields as investors braced themselves for the Federal Reserve meeting, said Lukman Otunuga, manager, market analysis, at FXTM. December gold rose nearly 0.6% to settle at $1,649.70 an ounce on Comex.

Oil Futures

Oil futures climbed, lifted by a report that said Saudi Arabia is on high alert for a potential Iranian attack. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery rose 2.3% to $88.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. January Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 2.2% at $94.84 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia shared intelligence with the U.S., warning of an Iranian attack on targets in the kingdom.

Forex

Major currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro fell from highs near US$0.9950 to US$0.9850 and was near US$0.9875 at the US close. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US64.65 cents to lows near US63.80 cents and was near US63.95 cents at the US close. The Japanese yen held between 147 yen per US dollar and JPY148.40 and was near JPY148.20 at US close.

European Markets

European sharemarkets were firmer on Tuesday on hopes that US Federal Reserve will soon start to scale down interest rate hikes. In Europe, earnings season has been better than expected. But the major worry is whether economies will move into recession. Out of the 163 STOXX 600 companies that have reported results so far, 58.3% exceeded analyst estimates, Refintiv data showed. In a typical quarter, 53% companies beat estimates. Miners rose by 3.4% while retailers rose by 2.2%. The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.6% to fresh 6-week highs. And the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 1.3%.

Asian Markets

Earlier, in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average closed 0.3% higher amid continued expectations for earnings growth. Aviation stocks were higher. Chinese shares rallied on rumors circulating on social media that China is preparing to loosen Covid-19 restrictions in March, according to market watchers.

Most stocks were higher, with travel companies, the consumption sector, and food producers leading the gainers. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 2.6% higher. The Shenzhen Composite Index was up 3.0%, and the ChiNext Price Index gained 3.2%.