Australia

Australian shares are expected to open flat today following a poor session in the US. Investors were anxious as a critical week for interest rates and corporate earnings kicked off.

ASX futures were unchanged as of 9:00am on Tuesday.

US stocks fell Monday, with investors growing cautious at the start of a bumper week of central bank meetings and corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.29%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.96%.

Stock markets have been volatile in recent weeks, driven by signs of softening inflation and hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue to moderate -- and eventually halt -- its interest rate increases. US indices registered solid weekly gains last week, with the S&P 500 adding 2.5%, the Nasdaq Composite jumping 4.3% and the Dow rising 1.8%.

All 50 of last year's worst-performing S&P 500 stocks are up this year, notching an average gain of 20% through January. In comparison, 29 of last year's 50 best-performing S&P 500 stocks are up, posting an average advance of 1.9%, according to Dow Jones Market Data through Friday.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil lost 2.03% to $US84.90 a barrel while gold edged 0.29% lower to US$1,922.50.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds dipped to 3.12% while the 10 Year fell to 3.53%. Overseas, the yield on 2 Year US Treasury notes slipped to 4.25% and the yield on 10 Year US Treasury notes declined to 3.55%.

The Australian dollar edged lower to 70.58 US cents from its previous close of 71.06. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, edged up to 95.21.

Asia

Chinese shares ended higher in the first trading session after the Lunar New Year break, with investor sentiment buoyed by robust consumption data during the holiday, as well as strong expectations for China's economic recovery in 2023. Auto makers and their suppliers outperformed the market, following news of solid new-energy vehicles sales during the Lunar New Year holiday. BYD Co. rose 4.4%, battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. was up 4.1% and Ganfeng Lithium was 1.3% higher. Insurance companies and food producers weighed on the market, with China Life Insurance dropping 1.3% and Bestore Co. declining 1.1%. The Shanghai Composite Index erased some of its opening gains, but was still up 0.1% at 3269.32, the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.2% and the ChiNext Price Index added 1.1%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 2.7% lower at 22069.73 as tech shares weighed on the market. The Hang Seng Tech Index declined 4.8% to 4580.22. Alibaba Health Information Technology led tech sector declines, closing 8.0% lower, while Alibaba Group slid 7.1% and Tencent Holdings fell 6.7%. Other decliners included property developer Country Garden Holdings, which closed 8.3% lower.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged 0.2% higher to close at 27433.40 as gains in land transport, chemicals and electronics stocks outweighed losses in other sectors such as iron and steel. SG Holdings and Shin-Etsu Chemical each rose 4.9%, while Fanuc added 3.35% after it lifted its FY revenue and net profit expectations after market close on Friday. Meanwhile, Shionogi & Co. closed 0.1% lower even after reporting a sharp increase in Q3 revenue and net profit.

India's benchmark Sensex index closed 0.3% higher at 59500.41, supported by gains in tech shares. HCL Technologies gained 1.7%, Infosys rose 1.4% and Tech Mahindra added 0.6%. Gail (India) fell 4.2% after reporting a significant decline in its Q3 net profit.

Europe 

Most European indices dropped after mixed Asia trading and ahead of an expected lower US open. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.17%, the French CAC 40 backtracked 0.21% and the German DAX shed 0.16%.

Meanwhile, Great Britain’s FTSE 100 closed 0.25% higher to 7784, lifted by consumer goods and oil-exposed sectors, amid weaker trading in global markets as investors focus on central bank meetings this week, IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said in a note.

"A glance at the calendar for the week would be enough to deter all but the most swashbuckling of investors from taking new positions, so it is hardly surprising to see some of the recent bullishness fade away," he said. Among the index top risers, Sainsbury rose 4.1%, followed by Auto Trader and Kingfisher, up 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively. On the other hand, Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered closed the day down 3.4%. Legal & General fell 1.8% after the insurer said CEO Nigel Wilson plans to retire from the board after 10 years in the role.

North America

US stocks fell Monday, with investors growing cautious at the start of a bumper week of central bank meetings and corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.29%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77%, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.96%.

Stock markets have been volatile in recent weeks, driven by signs of softening inflation and hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue to moderate -- and eventually halt -- its interest rate increases. US indices registered solid weekly gains last week, with the S&P 500 adding 2.5%, the Nasdaq Composite jumping 4.3% and the Dow rising 1.8%.

All 50 of last year's worst-performing S&P 500 stocks are up this year, notching an average gain of 20% through January. In comparison, 29 of last year's 50 best-performing S&P 500 stocks are up, posting an average advance of 1.9%, according to Dow Jones Market Data through Friday.

"You're seeing a lot of them come back powerfully in the month of January," said John Quealy, chief investment officer at Trillium Asset Management. Mr. Quealy said he has recently added to tech positions in some strategies.

Investors are gearing up for another important week of corporate results, with earnings due from more than 100 members of the S&P 500 index. In tech, Spotify and Snap report Tuesday, Facebook parent Meta Platforms follows Wednesday, and the sector giants Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Apple are all set to report Thursday.

"The market has had a flying couple of weeks. But as we get closer to the Fed meeting, cautiousness is something that is certainly going to creep in," said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management. "We will likely see Powell re-emphasizing that they are not at the end yet."

Fed officials are broadly expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point when their two-day meeting concludes Wednesday, lowering the size of the increase for a second straight meeting. Officials are also likely to debate how much further they need to go in taming inflation before pausing rate rises.

Despite that, investors remain cautious about the economy. The Fed, under Chair Jerome Powell, is determined to tame inflation, and many believe the Fed is unlikely to quickly begin lowering interest rates as it has done in the past. Some investors worry that sustained high rates could drag the economy into recession.