Investing.com - Australian shares are predicted to open lower, following the trend in the US where stocks ended lower and yields rose. ASX futures were down 0.4% or 33 points as of 8:30am on Tuesday, pointing towards a lower open.
By 12:25 pm AEDT (1:25 pm GMT) the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8%, while the KOSPI 200 and the Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% apiece.
In North America, U.S. stocks started the week broadly lower after Fed Chair Powell said over the weekend that officials don't have to rush to decide on a rate cut. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274 points, or 0.7%, to 38380, the S&P 500 lost 0.3% to 4942 and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.2% to 15597.
In the commodities market, Brent crude oil rose 0.9% to US$78.05 a barrel, while gold prices fell by 0.7% to US$2,024.96. In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds rose to 3.77%, while the 10 Year yield also increased to 4.09%. US Treasury notes saw a rise, with the 2 Year yield at 4.48% and the 10 Year yield at 4.16%.
The Australian dollar fell to 64.85 US cents from its previous close of 65.11.
In Asia, Chinese shares mostly ended lower as investors remained cautious and trading continued to be volatile. An upbeat reading from a private gauge of service-sector activity failed to lift spirits ahead of the Lunar New Year break, with concerns about the economy's health persisting. The Shanghai Composite Index finished at 2702.19, 1.0% lower. However, the tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index bucked the trend, rising 0.8% to finish at 1600.33.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.15% lower at 15510.01 amid weak sentiment. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in auto and financial stocks, with the Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.5% to 36354.16. Indian shares closed lower, with the benchmark Sensex ending 0.5% lower at 71731.42.
In Europe, shares edged lower after a stronger-than-expected U.S. ISM services report boosted the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600, FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 all retreated about 0.1%. The FTSE 100 index closed Monday down 0.03% to 7612 points.