Investing.com - Sharemarkets across the Asia-Pacific are predicted to open on a positive note on Tuesday, following a subdued session on Wall Street that saw all major indices close marginally lower.
The S&P/ASX 200, and Nikkei 225 Futures, were each higher by 11:55 pm GMT, while KOSPI 200 Futures were down 0.2%.
In the US, stocks closed slightly lower on Monday, as the market took a breather from the vigorous rally that swept through the stock market in November.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost around 56 points or 0.2%, ending near 35,333, while both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed about 0.2% and 0.1% lower, respectively.
U.S. stocks have witnessed a robust rally this month, driven by a significant retreat in benchmark borrowing costs. The 10-year Treasury yield dwindled to 4.388% on Monday, its lowest in about two months, after briefly trading above 5% in October.
Investors have expressed concern that higher borrowing costs could aid the Federal Reserve in controlling inflation but could also potentially derail the U.S. economy.
With this in mind, investors will be closely watching economic data due this week, including the personal consumption expenditure index due on Thursday, a favored inflation gauge of Fed officials.
Energy stocks declined as natural gas prices slipped due to concerns about demand, and oil fell ahead of an OPEC meeting later this week. Meanwhile, consumer discretionary shares received a boost as investors analyzed the results from the kickoff of the holiday shopping season. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) gained 0.7% and Shopify climbed 4.9% after reporting strong Black Friday results and good demand for deals on Cyber Monday.
In the commodity markets, Brent crude oil fell 0.7% to US$80.04 a barrel, while gold rose 0.7% to US$2,014.44.
Turning to the local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds increased to 4.27% while the 10 Year yield also rose to 4.56%. US Treasury notes fell, with the 2 Year yield at 4.88% and the 10 Year yield at 4.38%.
The Australian dollar rose to 66.04 US cents, up from the previous close of 65.84. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 97.88.
In Asia, Chinese shares closed lower, primarily due to property and beverage stocks. Hong Kong shares also closed lower, mainly due to property and consumer products stocks. The Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.5%, and Indian shares ended slightly lower, with a weakness in tech stocks offsetting banking gains.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 closed down 0.3% at 458.41, moving away from last week's two-month peak. Germany's DAX, France's CAC 40, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 all closed 0.4% lower.