The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a mixed opening on Tuesday following the modest strength seen in the previous session.
Traders may be reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of tomorrow's monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve.
With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point, traders are likely to keep a close eye on the accompanying statement as well as outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen's press conference for clues about the outlook for future rate hikes.
Following the mixed performance seen last week, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. With the upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The Dow rose 56.87 points or 0.2 percent to 24,386.03, the Nasdaq advanced 35.00 points or 0.5 percent to 6,875.08 and the S&P 500 climbed 8.49 points or 0.3 percent to 2,659.99.
Traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
Economic reports on producer and consumer prices, retail sales, and industrial production may also attract some attention this week.
Energy stocks saw considerable strength on the day, moving higher an increase by the price of crude oil. Crude for January delivery climbed $0.67 to $57.36 a barrel.
Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index shot up by 1.5 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index jumped by 1.5 percent.
Telecom and software stocks are also saw significant strength, while most of the other major sectors showed only modest moves on the day.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are rising $0.51 to $58.50 a barrel after climbing $0.63 to $57.99 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after slipping $1.50 to $1,246.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are dipping $1.60 to $1,245.30 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 113.47 yen compared to the 113.56 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued $1.1757 compared to yesterday's $1.1769.
Asia
Most Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as investors booked some profits after several days of advances. Markets awaited cues from key central bank meetings due this week as well as a major annual economic planning conference in Beijing that will set policy priorities for the next 12 months.
China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 41.19 points or 1.2 percent to 3,281.01 on growing expectations that China's central bank may raise open-market interest rates if the Fed decides to increase borrowing costs. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 171.41 points or 0.6 percent to 28,793.88.
Japanese shares gave up early gains to end lower as caution set in ahead of a two-day policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve beginning later today.
The Nikkei 225 Index shed 72.56 points or 0.3 percent to close at 22,866.17, while the broader Topix index closed 0.1 percent higher at 1,815.08.
Oil firm Inpex rallied 3.5 percent, lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial climbed 2.3 percent and brokerage Nomura Holdings rose 1.2 percent. Shipping stocks were in demand, tracking overnight gains in the Baltic dry index. Mitsui OSK Lines jumped 1.9 percent and Kawasaki Kisen advanced 1.5 percent.
Meanwhile, Australian shares rose for a fourth consecutive session, helped by gains in energy and mining stocks. Investors shrugged off weak home price and consumer confidence data.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 14.90 points or 0.3 percent to 6,013.20, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 11.20 points or 0.2 percent at 6,093.10.
Higher base metal prices helped lift miners, with Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group rising 1-2 percent.
Energy majors Santos, Oil Search, Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy rallied 1-2 percent as Brent crude oil prices jumped above $65 per barrel for the first time since 2015 after the closure of a major North Sea pipeline for repair.
Lender ANZ gained 1.1 percent after Zurich Insurance agreed to buy its life insurance arm for A$2.85 billion ($2.15 billion). Commonwealth and NAB rose about half a percent each.
Europe
European stocks are modestly higher in cautious trading Tuesday as a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve gets underway, with investors expecting the U.S. central bank to hike rates by 25 basis points and maintain expectations of three hikes in 2018.
Other major central banks, including the European Central Bank, Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank will announce their policy decisions on Thursday.
Meanwhile, official data showed that U.K. inflation rose an annual 3.1 percent in November, the highest rate in more than 5 1/2 years and up from 3 percent in October, forcing Bank of England governor Mark Carney to explain why inflation is so far above target.
While the French CAC 40 Index has climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.
Atos has jumped in Paris after the IT services group made a formal proposal to acquire Gemalto for a total consideration of approximately 4.3 billion euros.
Balfour Beatty has also advanced after the British infrastructure group said its performance in 2017 remains in line with board expectations.
Consumer credit reporting agency Experian has rallied after the company said it would acquire a minority stake in mortgage brokerage London & Country Mortgages Limited.
British industrial equipment hire company Ashtead has also jumped after lifting its full-year guidance and launching a £1bn share buyback program.
U.S. Economic Reports
Producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of November, according to a report released by the Labor Department.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.4 percent in November, matching the increases seen in the two previous months. Economists had expected prices to rise by 0.3 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core producer price index rose by 0.3 percent in November after climbing by 0.4 percent in October. Core prices had been expected to edge up by 0.2 percent.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of its auction of $12 billion worth of thirty-year bonds.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.