Australian Market

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.1% lower at 5894.8 after losing strength throughout the session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was in positive territory following a healthy lead from Wall Street but faded even before minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest board meeting indicated the RBA is in no hurry to further ease monetary policy.

US Market

U.S. stocks rose as technology shares recouped some of their recent losses. The S&P 500 added 0.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.2% as of the 4 p.m. ET close of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. Earlier in the day in Asia, the Nikkei Stock Average closed lower, weighed by falls in steel, electronic and transportation shares, as the yen strengthened amid continuing global economic uncertainty.

Commodities

Gold futures notched back-to-back gains to mark their highest finish in two weeks, ahead of what are expected to be dovish statements from global central banks this week that may provide renewed support for the precious metal.

December gold rose $2.50, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,966.20 an ounce, marking the highest most-active contract settlement since Sept. 1, according to FactSet data.

Oil Futures

Oil futures ended higher, finding support as Hurricane Sally approached the northern U.S. Gulf Coast, disrupting production of both oil and natural gas in the region.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.02, or 2.7%, to settle at $38.28 a barrel.

Forex

Major currencies were mostly weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.1899 to lows near US$1.1839 and was near US$1.1845 at the US close. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US73.42 cents to lows near US72.93 cents and was near US73.00 cents at the US close. But the Japanese yen lifted from 105.80 yen per US dollar to JPY105.29 and was near JPY105.45 at the US close.

European Markets

European share-markets lifted on Tuesday with the pan-European STOXX 600 index up by 0.7%. Shares of Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) surged 10.8% after the fashion retailer beat profit estimates. Germany’s ZEW survey of investors’ economic sentiment rose from 71.5 to 77.4 points in September (survey: 69.8). The German Dax index lifted 0.2%. The UK FTSE index gained 1.3%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto rose by 2.7% with shares in BHP up by 1.8%.

Asian Markets

China’s major stock benchmarks ended the session higher after economic data showed the country’s retail sales returned to growth for the first time in 2020, rising 0.5% in August from a year earlier. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5% to 3295.68. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.7% to 2205.36, while the ChiNext Price Index advanced 0.9% to 2595.15.