In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed in Tuesday morning trade as the U.S. earnings season kicked into high gear. Mainland Chinese shares were lower in early trade, with the Shanghai composite slipping more than 0.2 percent. Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index declined 0.45 percent, as Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank fell by more than 1 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Japan shed its earlier gains to slip 0.19 percent in morning trade as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing fell more than 2.5 percent

In Currency Markets the US dollar trod water against other major currencies in early Asian trade on Tuesday, while the Canadian dollar was supported by rising crude oil prices due to U.S. plans to tighten a clamp down on Iranian oil exports from next month. Financial markets in Australian and New Zealand reopened after the long Easter holiday, and were set to reopen across Europe later in the day. The dollar edged down 0.1 percent to 111.84 yen, moving off a high for this year of 112.17 hit last Wednesday.

In Commodities Markets oil prices hovered near 2019 peaks in early trading on Tuesday after Washington abruptly moved to end all Iran sanctions waivers by May, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran. Brent crude futures were at $74.33 per barrel, up 0.4 percent from their last close and not far off 2019 highs of $74.52 reached on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $65.79 per barrel, up 0.4 percent from their previous settlement, and also just a notch below their $65.92 2019 peak from Monday.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended a low-volume trading session little changed on Monday, with the biggest gains in the energy sector as investors otherwise stayed on the sidelines ahead of quarterly earnings. The S&P 500 gained 0.10%, to 2,907.97 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.22%, to 8,015.27. But seven of the 11 major S&P sectors ended the day lower, led by a 1% drop in the real estate index. The S&P energy index jumped 2.1%. Intuitive Surgical Inc fell 7% and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 after the surgical robotics maker’s quarterly profit missed analysts’ estimates.

In Bond Markets the Treasury yield curve steepened on Monday, with the kick-off of a busy auction week that will see $237 billion of new debt sold. The spread between the 2- and 10-year government note yields , the most common measure of the yield curve, widened by as much as 2.1 basis points from the last close to 20 basis points. Benchmark 10-year note and 30-year bond yields were up 3 basis points and 3.3 basis points.