Australia

The ASX is set to edge up as Wall Street hovered above record highs.

The Australian SPI 200 futures contract was up 12 points or 0.2 per cent higher at 7,459 near 8.00 am AEST on Tuesday, suggesting a positive start to trading.

US stocks closed at record highs on Monday, while Tesla shares fell after a Twitter poll run by chief executive Elon Musk urged him to sell a chunk of his stock.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1%. Today’s closing gain would give the index a record for the eighth consecutive trading session, a feat it hasn't accomplished since 1997.

The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite also ticked up 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Both indexes hit fresh records. Stocks have rallied in recent weeks on strong corporate earnings and signs that the economic recovery remains on track, including data showing a rebound in job growth in October.

The Australian dollar was buying 74.21 US cents near 8.00am AEST, up from the previous close of 73.99. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the US dollar against 16 other currencies, fell to 88.35.

Locally, the S&P/ASX 200 closed less than 0.1% lower at 7452.2, paring its losses thanks to strength among commodity stocks.

The benchmark opened higher, in line with futures, following strength from U.S. stocks at the end of last week, but fell away and was more than 0.3% lower mid-session.

The energy sector added 1.95% amid higher oil prices for its best day in two weeks, while gold miners were the big gainers in the materials sector.

Gold Road, Evolution, Perseus and St Barbara put on between 3.3% and 5.2%.

Tech, health and consumer stocks dragged, although travel agents Webjet and Flight Centre added 4.8% and 5.7%, respectively.

Sydney Airport's agreement on Monday to an $8.75/share takeover from a consortium of infrastructure investors has capped the stock price's upside, RBC Capital Markets says. The airport's shares were up 2.8% to $8.46 at bell and RBC sees little further upside remaining over the next six months until the deal closes.

Also on Monday, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. agreed to a takeover by retail and industrial conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd. that values the pharmaceutical distributor and retailer at $763.6 million.

Gold futures rose 0.5% to $US1826.50 an ounce; Brent crude rose 1.1% to $US83.62 a barrel; Iron ore was up 0.7% US$93.82.

The yield on the Australian 10-year bond moved down to 1.74%; The US 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.50.

Asia

Chinese stocks finished Monday higher, as lithium producers and airlines led gains, while the healthcare sector weakened. Electric-car battery maker CATL added 4.2%. Air China advanced 8.4% and China Southern Airlines gained 6.8%. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.2%, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.5% and the ChiNext Price Index was up 0.8%.

Hong Kong shares fell on higher crude-oil prices and ongoing worries over Chinese companies' debt payments, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.4% and the Hang Seng Tech Index down 1.3%. Developments, such as rising oil prices and a media report that Scenery Journey, a unit of China Evergrande Group, hasn't made interest payments to some offshore bondholders, appear to be adding a cautious tone, says Oanda.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.4% lower amid mixed trading for Asian equity markets with construction-related companies among the worst performers.

Europe

European stocks closed flat on Monday after a mixed lead from Wall Street, where stocks pared early gains only to rebound at the day’s end. The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which tracks the performance of companies across 17 European companies was flat, rising just 0.03%.

In London, The FTSE 100 index closed 0.05% lower on Monday having been up earlier in the session boosted by gold and silver miners.

North America

US stocks closed at record highs on Monday, while Tesla shares fell after a Twitter poll run by Chief Executive Elon Musk urged him to sell a chunk of his stock.

The S&P 500 was up 0.1%. Today’s closing gain would give the index a record for the eighth consecutive trading session, a feat it hasn't accomplished since 1997.

The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite also ticked up 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%. Both indexes hit fresh records. Stocks have rallied in recent weeks on strong corporate earnings and signs that the economic recovery remains on track, including data showing a rebound in job growth in October.

The spate of upbeat earnings reports have helped offset concerns that mounting inflation could hurt corporate profits. About 81% of S&P 500 companies that have reported results this season have topped analysts' earnings forecasts, according to Refinitiv.

"It's been a really good earnings season, so markets continue to power ahead driven by earnings growth," said Altaf Kassam, head of investment strategy for State Street Global Advisors in Europe. "What we're seeing is companies do have the pricing power they need and consumers are spending some of the cash they've saved up over the pandemic."

Companies including Roblox, PayPal Holdings and retail-trader favorite AMC Entertainment Holdings are set to report earnings after the closing bell.

The House of Representatives passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill late Friday, following months of delay. The bill's passage bolsters the chances that Democrats in Congress will pass an even larger social-spending and climate bill and raise the debt ceiling, said Jason Pride, chief investment officer for private wealth at Glenmede.

Mr. Pride added that investors have grown more comfortable with the prospect of the Federal Reserve tapering its bond purchases, a key element of the central bank's pandemic-era stimulus policies. "We're making progress on chipping away at a lot of the items that were on the wall of worry," he said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Tesla shares declined 3.2%. Twitter users said Mr. Musk should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, after the chief executive polled them and pledged to abide by the outcome of the vote. The stake could amount to around $21 billion, based on the stock's Friday closing price.

Shares of Live Nation Entertainment fell 4.7% after eight people died and many more were injured in an apparent crowd surge at a Houston music festival late Friday. The entertainment company owns the festival's promoter.

Peloton Interactive Inc. continued to tumble. Shares of the fitness-equipment maker fell 8.2%, after plunging 35% on Friday. The company reported last week that fewer people are joining its online workouts as the pandemic eases and traditional gyms mount a comeback.

Shares of US-listed Chinese education companies jumped after The Wall Street Journal reported that China planned to issue more than a dozen licenses that would allow firms to resume after-school tutoring. New Oriental Education & Technology Group gained 5.9% while Gaotu Techedu rallied 10.1%.

Nextdoor, the free social-networking app aimed at connecting local neighborhoods, made its stock-market debut Monday under the ticker KIND after merging with a special-purpose acquisition company. It shares surged 26%.