Opening Call: The Australian share market is to open higher.
U.S. stocks ended slightly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up 0.5 basis point to 1.14%, after rising to an intraday high of 1.185%. The WSJ Dollar Index recently was down 0.64% to 84.99. Crude oil prices ended at a nearly 11-month high. Gold prices ended lower as buyers pointed to $1,800 as a key price to watch.
Australian Market
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.3%, dragged lower by weakness in commodity-related stocks.
US Market
U.S. stocks finished up slightly as money managers prepare to parse quarterly results from U.S. companies in coming days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% as of the 4 p.m. close of trading in New York, after wavering earlier in the day. The S&P 500 was about flat, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.3%.
Commodities
Gold futures settled in negative territory, relinquishing early gains in a lackluster session that extends a weeklong weakening trend for precious metals.
February gold traded $6.60, or 0.4%, lower to settle at $1,844.20 an ounce, following a 0.8% gain on Monday.
Oil Futures
U.S. benchmark oil prices closed higher, with West Texas Intermediate closing at its highest since Feb. 21 as the U.S. dollar came under renewed pressure.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery rose 96 cents, or 1.8%, to close at $53.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Forex
Major currencies were firmer against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.2136 to highs near US$1.2206 and was near US$1.2205 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US76.86 cents to highs near US77.77 cents and was near US77.74 cents at the US close. And the Japanese yen rose from near 104.32 yen per US dollar to near JPY103.71 and was near JPY103.75 at the US close.
European Markets
European sharemarkets were mixed on Tuesday. The panEuropean STOXX 600 index rose by just 0.1% with autos stocks adding 1.7%, while utility shares dropped 1.5%. Germany’s Dax index lost 0.1%. The UK FTSE index slid 0.7% due to a stronger British pound and surge in new Covid-19 cases. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto (-1.1%) and BHP (-0.3%) both fell.
Asian Markets
The Japanese Nikkei was slightly higher as hopes for further U.S. fiscal stimulus offset concerns over rising Treasury yields. The Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.1%.
Mainland China stocks extended their advance since the start of 2021, pushing the Shanghai Composite Index to its highest level since December 2015 — a year of stock market turbulence. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.2% while the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.9% and the ChiNext Price Index climbed 2.8%. Securities brokers broadly rallied.