Asian markets were mostly higher Tuesday as Wall Street’s big gains the day before gave investors hopes of a beginning of a post-pandemic recovery.
The S&P/ASX in Sydney ended Tuesday’s session 2.4% higher to lead the region, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 1% in late afternoon trading. The Shanghai Composite index is up 0.6%, while both the KOSPI index in Seoul and Taiwan’s TSEC index is 0.2% higher.
Tokyo’s Nikkei index finished 0.3% lower for the day, while Mumbai’s Sensex is fluctuating.
But European markets are off to a slow start Tuesday. The FTSE in London is down 1.5%, while both the CAC-40 in Paris and Frankfurt’s DAX index are down 1.6%.
Oil markets are also down Tuesday, with U.S. crude selling at $37.79 per barrel, down 1%, while Brent crude is selling $40.47 per barrel, down 0.8%.
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are trending lower in futures trading, despite all three markets finishing Monday’s trading day with solid gains. The S&P 500 climbed back to its pre-pandemic levels, while the Nasdaq, which heavily tracks the technology sector, closed at a record high, despite news that the U.S. had officially fallen into a recession.