In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose and bond yields firmed in early trade on Tuesday despite mild losses from Wall Street overnight as investors turned their focus to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week for hints on what comes next. Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.7 percent. Australian shares were up 0.65 percent with the mining index leading the gains, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.95 percent. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.51 percent higher in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened up 1.52 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar eased from a one-week top against a basket of major peers on Tuesday, as traders weighed the odds of a less aggressive Federal Reserve at Wednesday’s widely watched monetary policy meeting. The U.S. dollar index eased 0.16 percent to 111.35. The Aussie gained 0.3 percent to $0.6416, but was off earlier highs after the RBA opted for another 25-bp hike. New Zealand’s kiwi gained 0.4 percent to $0.5838. The euro added 0.2 percent to $0.98995. Sterling jumped 0.28 percent to $1.1499. Against the yen, the greenback weakened 0.28 percent to 148.32.

In US Equity Markets stocks lost ground on Monday, with the major indexes closing out a strong month of gains on a weaker foot, as investor focus turned to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week. The Dow fell 0.39 percent, to 32,732.95, the S&P 500 lost 0.75 percent, to 3,871.98 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.03 percent, to 10,988.15. Megacap growth names such as Amazon.com and Google-owner Alphabet which have been under pressure in the rising rate environment, were also lower, down 0.94 percent and 1.85 percent, respectively.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Monday on expectations that U.S. production could rise and as weaker economic data out of China and the country’s widening COVID-19 curbs weighed on demand. Global benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.98 percent, to $94.83 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.37 to $86.53 a barrel, a 1.6 percent loss. Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,638.84 per ounce. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.3 percent to $19.17 per ounce. Platinum fell 1.2 percent to $932.98, but was headed for its biggest monthly gain since February 2021.

In European Equity Markets stocks marked their first monthly gain in three on Monday, buoyed by a better-than-expected earnings season and hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would slow its pace of interest rate hikes. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 percent to close at a more than six-week high, having recouped early losses following data showing record-high inflation in the euro zone. Credit Suisse rose 5.2 percent as it unveiled details of its plan to raise 4 billion francs ($4.01 billion) from investors to support the embattled bank’s bid to tackle the biggest crisis in its 166-year history.

In Bond Markets treasury yields edged higher on Monday as a relatively strong U.S. economy and labor market suggested the Federal Reserve will stay the course this week and aggressively raise interest rates again to tame inflation. The yield on two-year notes, which typically moves in step with rate expectations, was up 8.1 basis points at 4.503 percent while the 10-year yield rose 7.1 basis points to 4.081 percent. The 30-year yield was up 8 basis points to 4.209 percent. The breakeven rate on five-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) was last at 2.658 percent.