In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.4% lower during afternoon trade, with household goods stocks leading the gains. Luxury brands LVMH, Christian Dior and Hugo Boss all saw their shares cross into positive territory. British industrial group Rotork saw its stock jump 7.7% after reporting first half results, while shares of German cash and carry group Metro continued a tough week, falling 7.6% after Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky’s investment vehicle said on Monday that it would not raise its 5.8 billion euro bid for the company.

In Currency Markets the British pound rebounded on Tuesday to hold above recent lows, although it remained vulnerable as traders still worry that Britain is headed for a no-deal Brexit. Sterling hit a new, almost two-year low against the euro overnight, with the losses largely down to strength in the single currency rather than more Brexit-related worries. Sterling rose 0.3% against the dollar to $1.2175, away from the 31-month low of $1.2080 hit last week. Against the euro the pound recovered from a nearly 2-year low of 92.49 pence to touch 91.94 pence, up 0.3% on the day.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rebounded slightly on Tuesday from big falls in recent sessions, but Brent crude remained near seven-month lows around $60 a barrel due to escalating trade tensions between China and the United States. Brent prices have lost more than 9% in the past week, with U.S. President Donald Trump vowing to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports and China making further moves against U.S. agricultural cargoes. Brent futures were up 54 cents at $60.35 a barrel, having dipped earlier in the session to their lowest since Jan. 14 at $59.07.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday, helped by technology shares, as China stepped in to stabilize the yuan, a day after Wall Street’s main indexes suffered their sharpest one-day percentage declines of the year. The S&P 500 was up 0.47%, at 2,858.05. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.70%, at 7,780.22. Payments processor Mastercard Inc gained 2.1% after it said it would buy a majority of the corporate services businesses of Scandinavian payments group Nets for about $3.19 billion. Walt Disney Co was up 0.7% ahead of its results after market close.

In Bond Markets Euro zone government bond yields fell to fresh record lows on Tuesday, due to rising concern about a global trade war after the United States branded China a currency manipulator. Germany’s 2-year bond yield hit minus 0.82% — its lowest level since May 2018 when a rout in Italy’s bond market sparked a dash for safe-haven assets. Elsewhere, Italy’s bond yields fell 4-5 bps after the government won a confidence vote in the Senate on Monday, prolonging its tenure. It would have had to resign had it lost the motion.