Stocks largely declined on Tuesday as markets became increasingly uncertain as to whether the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking agenda will come to an end. S&P 500 futures slumped by 0.3% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 0.2%.
In Europe, futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 declined by 0.4% while in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped by 1.2% as did Japan’s Topix index. In contrast, China’s mainland Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%.
The US dollar showed signs of strengthening, with the Bloomberg Spot Dollar Index rising 0.2%. The British pound slipped 0.1% to $1.2326 as did the euro, to $1.0706. The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 150.36 per dollar while the offshore yuan remained little changed.