Asian stocks declined slightly while the dollar maintained its strength on Tuesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes for clues on potential interest rate cuts this year.
Japan's Nikkei edged higher, led by chip shares following a record high on the Nasdaq, ahead of Nvidia's earnings announcement on Wednesday.
Gold approached Monday's peak, while oil prices dipped amid concerns over prolonged U.S. interest rates after cautious remarks from Fed officials on recent inflation trends.
Cryptocurrencies like ether and bitcoin surged to six-week highs on speculation that the SEC might approve a spot ether ETF.
Markets are currently pricing in around a 41 basis point reduction in Fed rates this year, with a quarter-point cut fully anticipated for November.
Traders adjusted expectations after April data showed easing consumer price pressures, following several months of inflation surprises earlier this year.
Despite this, Fed officials remain cautious about declaring control over inflation, with Vice Chair Philip Jefferson stating it's premature to determine if the slowdown will persist, and Vice Chair Michael Barr indicating the need for more time for restrictive policies.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6%, weighed down by a more than 1% decline in Hong Kong's Hang Seng from Monday's multi-month high.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.2%, continuing the previous day's 0.73% gain.
Nasdaq futures edged down 0.1% after the index reached a new high overnight with a 0.65% increase. S&P 500 futures were flat following a 0.1% rise on Monday.
Meanwhile, record highs for metals like gold and copper suggest global economic improvement, potentially contributing to persistent inflation, according to Rodda.
Gold eased 0.2% to approximately $2,420 per ounce after nearing $2,450 for the first time overnight.
The dollar strengthened marginally against major currencies, with the dollar index rising 0.1% to 104.69, following a similar increase on Monday.
The 10-year Treasury yield was largely unchanged at 4.4453%, after a slight rise of 1.7 basis points on Monday.
Brent crude futures slipped 12 cents to $83.34 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) decreased 8 cents to $79.72 per barrel.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies continued their upward trend as traders anticipated SEC approval of ether ETFs, with bitcoin reaching $71,957 and ether climbing to $3,720.80, both hitting levels unseen since April 9.
Sycamore expects bitcoin to test its all-time high at $73,803.25 in the coming days before aiming for $80,000.
Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.
