Australia

Australian shares are expected to open lower this morning following a quiet session on Wall Street. As investors awaited key economic data, US indices were relatively unchanged.

ASX futures were hinting down Tuesday morning, having lost 5 points or 0.1% as of 6:00am.

US stocks paused on Monday after a strong rally in the prior session as investors shifted focus to a key inflation reading later this week.

Stocks struggled for direction for most of the day amid disappointing earnings from Tyson Foods and Catalent and a short-lived rebound in regional banks.

The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.

The struggle for a clearer direction comes after a rally on Friday, when US jobs data pointed to a resilient labor market.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil advanced 1.8% to US$76.63 a barrel while gold gained 0.2% to US$2,021.13.

Australian government bonds moved higher, with the 2 Year yield rising to 3.18% and the 10 Year yield climbing to 3.39%. US Treasury notes also increased, with the 2 Year yield edging up to 4.01% and the 10 Year yield reaching 3.51%.

The Australian dollar climbed to 67.78 US cents from its previous close of 67.47. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, moved up to 95.55.

Asia

Chinese shares ended higher, boosted by banks and software companies, as sentiment improved following Chinese leaders' positive comments on future economic policy. Lenders soared after some banks lowered deposit rates in a bid to maintain profitability following Beijing's call for cheap loans to support the economy. ICBC rose 6.2%. Iflytek advanced by the 10% daily limit after the Chinese AI company unveiled a generative language model that it said rivals ChatGPT's technology. Among losers were pharmaceutical companies and consumption stocks. Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics dropped 4.2% and China Tourism Group Duty Free shed 2.0%. The Shanghai Composite Index ended 1.8% higher at 3395.00. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.4% and the ChiNext Price Index added 0.3%.

Hong Kong stocks gained Monday, with the Hang Seng Index ending 1.2% higher.

Japanese stocks ended lower, dragged by falls in bank, energy and electronics shares, amid continued concerns about policy tightening by central banks. Resona Holdings dropped 1.8%, Inpex lost 2.0% and Sony Group declined 1.9%. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.7% to 28949.88.

India's benchmark Sensex index closed 1.2% higher at 61764.25 as lenders gained. The market is likely to remain resilient, as India's economy is less vulnerable to slowing global economic growth, with exports making up less than 20% of GDP, explained Anand Gupta, a portfolio manager for Eastspring Singapore, in a note. Among finance-related stocks, IndusInd Bank rose 4.9%, Bajaj Finance added 4.2% and Bajaj Finserv advanced 3.3%. Decliners included Sun Pharmaceutical, which closed 0.9% lower.

Europe

European stocks closed mostly higher Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.3%. Banks and financial shares were among the main risers due to prospects of further interest rate rises after the European Central Bank raised rates last week. German stocks underperformed, however, with the benchmark DAX index ending down 0.1% after data showed German industrial production fell by a worse-than-expected 3.4% in March. France's CAC 40 ended 0.1% higher while the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 was closed in honor of the coronation of King Charles III.

North America

US stocks paused on Monday after a strong rally in the prior session as investors shifted focus to a key inflation reading later this week.

Stocks struggled for direction for most of the day amid disappointing earnings from Tyson Foods and Catalent and a short-lived rebound in regional banks.

The S&P 500 added less than 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%.

The struggle for a clearer direction comes after a rally on Friday, when US jobs data pointed to a resilient labor market.

"Whenever you have a big up day, people need more good news to keep the market up every day in a row," said portfolio manager Moez Kassam of Anson Funds.

The spotlight this week will be on the Labor Department's inflation reading on Wednesday, which is expected to show the consumer price index (CPI) climbing 0.4% in April after gaining 0.1% in March. Producer prices, weekly jobless claims and consumer sentiment data are also all lined up for the week.

The data this week should help investors gauge whether the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening cycle, including its most recent 25 basis point hike last week, is helping tamp down inflation as well as whether fears of stagflation are founded.

"The bigger picture is inflation will remain higher for longer and that we are heading into a recession," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.

"Whether that's hard or soft remains to be seen, but until there's something to disprove that bigger picture thesis, the overall market is going to remain somewhat range bound."

A rally in regional bank shares proved short-lived, with PacWest Bancorp paring an earlier surge after the lender sharply cut its quarterly dividend to boost capital.

Shares of regional banks tumbled for much of last week on worries tied to the collapse of First Republic Bank.