Equity
Shares in Asia rose in Tuesday morning trade as the U.S. earnings season kicks into high gear.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.2 percent in early trade . The Topix index also gained 0.35 percent. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.18 percent. Australia’s ASX 200, which was closed on Monday for a holiday, also gained 0.26 percent as almost all sectors advanced.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 48.49 points to close at 26,511.05, while the S&P 500 advanced around 0.1 percent to finish at 2,907.97. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.22 percent to close at 8,015.27.
Oil
Oil prices surged to nearly six-month highs on Monday after the Trump administration announced that all oil buyers would need to cease imports from Iran by early May.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, settled $2.07 higher at $74.04, rising 2.9 percent for its best closing price since Oct. 31, 2018. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled $1.70 higher at $65.70, surging 2.7 percent to a nearly six-month closing high.
Currency
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.284 after seeing highs around 97.4 yesterday.
The Japanese yen traded at 111.92 against the dollar after seeing highs above 111.8 in the previous trading day. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7130 after slipping from highs beyond $0.714 yesterday.
