Open Mar12

In Asian Equity Markets the Nikkei 225 jumped more than 2 percent, with most sectors putting in strong gains. The broader Topix rose 1.88 percent. The Shanghai composite jumped 1.61 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded up 1.41 percent. Shares of China's Meituan Dianping, an online food delivery-to-ticketing firm, fell more than 9 percent, following results posted a day earlier which showed that its fourth-quarter operating loss more than doubled. South Korea's Kospi was also higher by 0.89 percent.

In Currency Markets sterling rallied on Tuesday on speculation that British Prime Minister Theresa May might be closer to securing approval for her Brexit deal after the European Commission agreed to some changes to it ahead of a vote in the British parliament. After paring some of its earlier gains, sterling was last trading half a percent higher on the day at $1.3214. It was still up 2.1 percent from a low of $1.2945 at one stage on Monday. The euro slipped to its lowest on the pound since May 2017 at 84.71 pence, before recovering the losses somewhat.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Tuesday, lifted by healthy demand and output cuts led by producer group OPEC. A rally in broader financial markets also supported crude futures, although analysts still warned of risks to the global economy. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were at $56.97 per barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.3 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures were at $66.75 per barrel, up 17 cents, or 0.3 percent. Traders also pointed to the political and economic crisis in OPEC-member Venezuela as a driver for oil prices.

In US Equity Markets stocks jumped on Monday as the technology sector led a broad-based rebound following five straight sessions of losses, but a fall in Boeing’s shares limited the Dow’s advance after a deadly airline crash in Ethiopia. The S&P 500 gained 1.47 percent, to 2,783.3 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.02 percent, to 7,558.06. All the major S&P sectors rose, led by gains in the technology sector, which was up 2.2 percent. Chip-maker Nvidia Corp jumped after entering a $6.8 billion deal to buy Mellanox Technologies Ltd. The Israeli chip designer also rose.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Monday after falling for four straight sessions, as overall risk appetite improved and equity markets stabilized, with investors bracing for this week's slate of corporate supply and government debt auctions. The $38 billion U.S. three-year note auction showed fair demand on Monday, with the yield of 2.44 percent coming in slightly higher than that at the bid deadline. U.S. 10-year note yields rose to 2.64 percent, up from 2.62 percent late on Friday. U.S. 30-year bond yields were also up at 3.033 percent , from 3.009 percent on Friday.