In Asian Equity Markets stocks opened lower on Tuesday despite fresh all-time highs on Wall Street, as worries about China’s slowing economic growth and regulatory changes weighed on investor sentiment. MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan fell 0.25 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 0.3 percent in the morning session. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s benchmark CSI300 Index opened down 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent respectively. Australian shares, however, rose slightly for a second straight session, led by mining and technology stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar hovered near two-week lows against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, as investors looked to U.S. jobs figures later this week for clues on taper timing, while the Chinese yuan shrugged off soft factory and services sector surveys. The euro held firm at $1.1815, its highest levels since Aug. 6. Sterling fetched $1.3762 while the yen was little changed at 109.85 yen to the dollar. The dollar index stood at 92.590, its lowest level in two weeks. The offshore Chinese yuan was largely steady at 6.4666 per dollar.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 and Nasdaq topped their record closes once again on Monday, bolstered by technology stocks, as last week’s dovish comments from the Federal Reserve on tapering its monetary stimulus refocused investors’ minds on economic growth. The S&P 500 gained 0.43 percent, to 4,528.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9 percent, to 15,265.89. The Dow fell 0.16 percent, to 35,399.84. PayPal Holdings Inc advanced 3.6 percent on a CNBC report that the financial services firm was exploring the development of a stocks trading platform for its U.S. customers.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged higher on Monday but were off a four-week high as Hurricane Ida weakened into a Category 1 hurricane within 12 hours of coming ashore as a Category 4. Brent crude finishing up 71 cents at $73.41 a barrel after touching four-week highs. U.S. oil rose 47 cents to $69.21 a barrel, having jumped a little more than 10 percent over the last week. Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,808.67 per ounce. Silver fell 0.3 percent to $23.93 per ounce, platinum lost 0.3 percent to $1,004.48 and palladium rose 2.5 percent to $2,479.50.

In European Equity Markets stocks ended flat on Monday as a British holiday made for languid trade, but were set for strong monthly gains on expectations that continued central bank support would sustain an economic recovery. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 ended largely unchanged at 472.68 points but was on course to end August with a 2.4 percent rise – its seventh straight month of gains in what would be its longest such winning run in over eight years. Chemical stocks were the best performers for the day, rising 0.6 percent, while technology stocks rose 0.5 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday as the market looked ahead to the release later this week of the August employment report and the possibility it could factor into the timing of the Federal Reserve’s tapering announcement. The benchmark 10-year yield was last down 2.9 basis points at 1.2835 percent. The five-year note yield, which is more sensitive to intermediate interest rate hikes, was last down 2.9 basis points at 0.7708 percent. The breakeven rate on 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities rose to 2.416 percent, its highest level in a month, before falling to 2.373 percent.