In Asian Equity Markets indices struggled for direction in Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.12% higher. Automaker Nissan Motor’s shares gained more than 0.1% ahead of the expected release of its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday. Meanwhile, market movements in Hong Kong continue to be monitored, as the Hang Seng index rose fractionally with shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent gaining more than 1%. The Kospi in South Korea was 0.11% higher while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.5% lower as shares of Westpac fell around 4%. Mainland Chinese shares were lower as the Shanghai composite was 0.44% lower.

In Currency Markets sterling held gains in Asian trade on Tuesday, having hit a six-month high versus the euro and rising as much as 1% against the dollar overnight, as the risk of a hung parliament in UK elections eased slightly. The pound rallied to as high as $1.2896 on the news, which the market had interpreted as reducing the probability of a hung- or Labour led- government that would further complicate Britain’s exit from the European Union. Cable gave up some of its overnight gains and was last at $1.2858. Against the euro, the sterling strengthened to its highest level since May 8, at 85.62 pence.

In Commodities Markets U.S. oil prices fell for a second day on Tuesday, weighed down by uncertainty over whether U.S.-China trade talks are making much progress, while higher Saudi Arabian crude output reinforced concerns about oversupply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 18 cents, or 0.3%, at $56.68 a barrel. The contract dropped 0.7% in the previous session. Brent crude futures were down 14 cents, or 0.2%, at $62.04 a barrel, after falling 0.5% on Monday. Spot gold was on track for a third day of declines, to touch its lowest since early August at $1,447.89 per ounce. It was last trading at $1,455.62.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes fell from record highs on Monday as uncertainty about progress in U.S.-China trade talks again rose to the fore following comments by President Donald Trump. The S&P 500 lost 0.20%, to 3,087.01 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.13%, to 8,464.28.  Most of the S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with utilities, energy and healthcare falling the most. Shares of Boeing Co jumped 4.5% to $366.96 after the planemaker said it expected U.S. regulators to approve the return to commercial service of its grounded 737 MAX jet in the coming weeks, and expects commercial service to resume in January.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices fell on Tuesday after a poorly received auction of 30-year debt sparked concern about demand for longer-dated bonds. Benchmark 10-year JGB futures fell 0.22 point to 152.80, with a trading volume of 22,005 lots. The 10-year JGB yield rose 2 basis points to minus 0.050%, while the 20-year JGB yield rose 2 basis points to 0.315%. The 30-year JGB yield rose 2 basis points to 0.470%. Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s finance ministry auctioned new 30-year bonds. The bid-to-cover ratio was lower than the previous auction last month, a sign of weakening demand.