Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US traders took a cautious stance ahead of Wednesday's rate decision, piling into blue chip companies.

ASX futures were up 0.65% or 53 points as of 8:00am on Tuesday, suggesting a higher open.

US traders are ramping up wagers that the Federal Reserve will kick off its interest-rate easing campaign with a big cut.

On Monday, US derivatives markets showed investors saw a roughly three-in-five chance of a half-point rate cut on Wednesday. That's up from 50-50 odds on Friday, according to CME Group data-and just 14% earlier last week.

US stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% and notched a record, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5%. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 1.6% to US$72.75 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,583.12.

The Australian dollar was at 67.49 US cents, down from its previous close of 67.50.

Asia

China markets were closed due to a public holiday.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.3% to 17,422.12.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.7% to 36,581.76.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX added 0.1% to 82,988.78.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index gained 0.1% to 8,278.44.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.4% to 18,633.11, and France's CAC 40 lost 0.2% to 7,449.44.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA added 0.6% to 41,622.08, the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,633.09, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.5% to 17,592.13.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Intel Corp, surging 6.36%, Bath & Body Works Inc jumped 6.25%, and Oracle Corp lifted 5.12%.

The biggest decliners were Qorvo Inc which dropped 6.68%, Skyworks Solutions Inc fell 5.09%, and Micron Technology Inc lost 4.45%.