Open July 16

In Asian Equity Markets indices traded mixed on Tuesday morning. n China, the Shanghai composite traded mostly flat, while the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was slightly lower. The Nikkei 225 in Japan, which returned to trade after a holiday on Monday, fell 0.72% in morning trade. Over in Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 traded largely flat. Shares of miner Rio Tinto advanced more than 0.6%. The company had announced a cost blowout and delay at its underground copper mine in Mongolia.


In Currency Markets the pound struggled near a six-month low against the dollar on Tuesday, hampered by persistent worries over Brexit that, in turn, weighed on the euro. The dollar fought for traction against the yen as the prospect of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut later in the month continued to keep the greenback on the defensive. The pound was a shade lower at $1.2515 following an overnight loss of 0.5%. A slip below $1.2439 would take sterling to its lowest since early January.


In Commodities Markets oil prices fell for a second day on Tuesday as more production facilities returned to operation in the U.S. Gulf after Hurricane Barry swept through over the weekend, while Chinese economic data dimmed the outlook for crude demand. Brent crude futures were down 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $66.38 a barrel. They fell 0.4% overnight. U.S. crude fell by 10 cents, or 0.2% to $59.48 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark fell about 1% in the previous session. Both contracts last week.


In US Equity Markets the benchmark S&P 500 index struggled for direction in choppy trade on Monday as earnings season began in earnest with a mixed quarterly report from Citigroup Inc. The S&P 500 closed flat at 3,013.75 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.18%, to 8,258.77. Gains in healthcare and technology shares offset losses in financial stocks. A 2.8% rise in Gilead Sciences Inc shares helped boost the S&P 500 healthcare index, as the drugmaker said it would invest $5.1 billion in a major expansion of its partnership with biotech Galapagos NV .


In Bond Markets longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields edged lower on Monday as investors focused on Tuesday’s retail sales figures as the next indicator of the strength of the U.S. economy. Benchmark 10-year notes gained 3/32 in price to yield 2.10%, after testing the 2.15% level in overnight trading for the third consecutive trading session, the highest level since June 11. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year notes flattened by one basis point to 26 basis points on Monday, but is up from 15 basis points last Tuesday.