Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after all US benchmarks ended lower led by declines in industrials stocks.

ASX futures were slightly up 0.05% or 5 points as of 8:00am on Tuesday, suggesting a higher open.

The S&P 500 fell for a second straight session Monday ahead of key inflation data that could shed light on when the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates.

The benchmark index edged down 0.1% to 5,117.94 but remained within 1% of its record. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% lower at 16,019.27, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% at 38,769.66.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.4% to US$82.43 a barrel, while gold was up 0.2% at US$2,182.75.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.70% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 3.95%. US Treasury notes were up, with the 2 Year yield at 4.54% and the 10 Year yield at 4.10%.

The Australian dollar hit 66.07 US cents down from its previous close of 66.24. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 97.46.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher, lifted by index heavyweight CATL. The battery maker jumped 14% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock and said that despite weak consumer demand in China, demand for CATL's batteries could hold up reasonably well. Electric-vehicle and renewable-energy stocks rose, following CATL's lead. EV maker BYD, which also makes lithium batteries, gained 5.7%. Seres Group was 7.5% higher. Investors remained focused on the National People's Congress meeting, which concludes Monday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.7% higher at 3068.46, the Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 2.1% and the ChiNext Price Index advanced 4.6%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.4% to close at 16587.57, led by tech stocks. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 2.9% to 3482.29. There appears to be risk-on sentiment today, Nomura analyst Jialong Shi said in an email. Consequently, laggard performers in the internet space rallied more than other outperforming sectors, Shi added. Among advancers on the benchmark index, JD.com gained 6.4%, Meituan rose 5.3% and Tencent was 3.2% higher. Meanwhile, China Shenhua Energy lost 4.0%, Cnooc fell 3.6% and Lenovo Group shed 2.4%.

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in tech and auto stocks, as expectations persisted for the Bank of Japan's possible shifts away from its ultralow interest-rate policy. SoftBank Group dropped 6.0% and Nissan Motor shed 3.9%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.2% to 38820.49. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield rose 3 basis points to 0.760%. Investors are focusing on economic data, annual wage negotiations between unions and management and their policy implications, ahead of the Bank of Japan's policy meeting next week.

Indian stocks lost ground, with most regional markets on edge ahead of global macroeconomic data, including U.S. inflation that could offer new clues about where global interest rates are headed. India's markets regulator also flagged some signs of "irrational exuberance" in some areas of the market, according to local press. Power Grid Corp. of India shed 2.5%, Tata Steel slipped 2.4% and HDFC Bank lost 1.3%. Among the few gainers, Nestle India rose 2.05%. The benchmark Sensex closed 0.8% lower at 73502.64.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index closed down at 501.49, while France's CAC 40 Index finished 0.10% lower at 8019.73, while the DAX was also down 0.38% to 17746.27.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.12% at 7769 points on Monday ahead of tomorrow's U.K. job data. Admiral Group was the day's highest riser, up 4.9%, followed by Antofagasta and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, up 3.1% and 2.9% respectively. St. James's Place, SSE and Airtel Africa were the session's biggest fallers, down 3.5%, 2.2% and 2.0% respectively.

North America

The S&P 500 fell for a second straight session Monday ahead of key inflation data that could shed light on when the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates.

The benchmark index edged down 0.1% to 5,117.94 but remained within 1% of its record. The Nasdaq Composite was 0.4% lower at 16,019.27, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% at 38,769.66.

Attention is now on the consumer-price index, with the latest report set for release Tuesday morning. The overall inflation rate is expected to have held steady in February at 3.1% from a year earlier, according to economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told lawmakers last week that the central bank is "not far" from being able to cut rates but wants greater confidence that inflation is returning to its 2% target. Wall Street traders are currently pricing in a 60% chance of a first rate cut in June.

"If we keep seeing progress on the inflation side, it will give investors confidence that the Fed is going to be friendlier to markets than it has been for the past couple of years," said James Robertson, senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management.

The S&P 500 has been on a tear since Nov. 1, rallying some 20% on the back of strong earnings, economic optimism and expectations for rate cuts. Some analysts caution that the speed of the gains means shares could be poised for a pullback.

"I think the market is vulnerable right now to some kind of decline. Expectations are so high that it won't take much to disappoint," said Tim Hayes, chief global investment strategist at Ned Davis Research.

While the rally has been driven by monster gains from a handful of big tech companies including chip maker Nvidia, investors have been encouraged by recent signs of a broadening advance. The equal-weighted S&P 500, which measures each company equally rather than weighting them by their size, rose to a record last week. Analysts are chalking up the gains to a strong economy that is boosting corporate profits.

"We're starting to see other parts of the market participate, and that's a good thing," Hayes said, adding that small-cap stocks stand to benefit if the Fed begins cutting rates.

Among individual stocks, natural-gas producer EQT was the S&P 500's worst performer Monday, tumbling 7.8% after it announced a deal to buy back a former subsidiary.

Four of the "Magnificent Seven" group of tech stocks posted declines, led by a 4.4% drop for Facebook-parent Meta Platforms.

Biotech company Moderna was the S&P 500's best performer, adding 8.7%.

Bitcoin climbed again Monday, touching a new record above $72,000. Gold prices set a new high at $2,182.50 an ounce, following a record-breaking week.