In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Tuesday, rattled by concerns over China’s regulations for its once-freewheeling internet sector and the worldwide spike in COVID-19 infections driven by the Delta variant. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.1 percent. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.05 percent while the blue-chip CSI300 index lost 1.11 percent., Australian stocks fell 0.98 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index edged down 0.11 percent. The tech index in Hong Kong fell 1.74 percent, compared with a 1 percent loss in the city’s benchmark Hang Seng index.

In Currency Markets the New Zealand dollar fell on Tuesday after the country discovered its first community case of COVID-19 in six months while the Australian dollar fell to a one-month low as minutes from the central bank meeting were perceived as dovish. The New Zealand dollar fell 0.7 percent to $0.6972 after the virus-free country found a community outbreak of COVID-19 for the first time since February. The Australian dollar lost 0.4 percent to $0.7308. The yen has risen to around 109.28 yen per dollar, while the euro eased slightly to $1.1785.

In US Equity Markets the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow industrials hit record highs on Monday as investors moved into defensive sectors and stocks recovered from losses earlier in the session, shaking off glum economic data out of China. The Dow rose 0.31 percent, to 35,625.4, the S&P 500 gained 0.26 percent, to 4,479.71 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2 percent, to 14,793.76. In company news, Tesla shares fell 4.3 percent after U.S. auto safety regulators said they had opened a formal safety probe into the company’s driver assistance system Autopilot after a series of crashes involving emergency vehicles.

In Commodities Markets oil prices settled lower on Monday, paring steep losses on weak Chinese economic data after sources told Reuters that OPEC and its allies believe the markets do not need more oil than they plan to release in the coming months. Brent crude settled down 1.5 percent, at $69.51 a barrel after earlier falling to $68.14. U.S. oil fell by 1.7 percent, to $67.29 after reaching lows of $65.73. Spot gold rose 0.5 percent to $1,787.76 per ounce. Silver was little changed at $23.75 per ounce, platinum fell 0.6 percent to $1,020.52, and palladium fell 2.6 percent to $2,580.87.

In European Equity Markets London’s FTSE 100 on Monday recorded its worst session in nearly a month, as weakness in commodity prices hit heavyweight energy and mining shares, while Ultra Electronics jumped after it agreed to a takeover deal. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5 percent to 473.45. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.9 percent lower, dragged down by miners, energy stocks, and financials. BHP Group fell 1.8 percent after the world’s biggest miner said it was in talks to sell its petroleum business to Australia’s top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as weak Chinese economic data and concerns about the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and new COVID variants increased demand for the safe-haven bonds. Benchmark 10-year yields fell four basis points to 1.256 percent, after earlier getting as low as 1.223 percent. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes flattened two basis points to 105 basis points. Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund briefly fell to -0.489 percent , its lowest in just over a week, before steadying at around -0.475 percent in thin summer trade.