Asian shares declined marginally in early trade on Tuesday, as investors turn cautious following a seven-week surge in global equities. The yen and gold remained steady while the dollar stayed at its seven-month low after falling 0.2 percent on Monday.
American data on services and manufacturing, labour cost and productivity was in line with the estimates, indicating stable growth in the world's largest economy. U.S. stock futures were little changed, after the S&P 500 Index fell 0.1 percent a day before.
With central bank policy makers in the U.S. and Europe all in quiet periods ahead of key policy decisions, attention this week has shifted to Britain's election and testimony from former FBI head James Comey on Thursday. Traders are now forecasting a more than 90 percent chance of an interest-rate increase next week.
Also Read: Why Oil Won't Spike On Saudi Arabia Qatar Row
The Middle East Problem
Oil erased gains sparked by a political spat between several energy-producing nations in the Middle East. However, traders have so far downplayed concerns that Qatar's turmoil would hamper supply from the country.
"It is not the first time for OPEC to see a political rift between its member countries, and it's not going to be the last," said Abdulsamad Al-Awadhi, a London-based analyst, told Bloomberg News.
U.S. crude inventories are expected to fall for the ninth time, by 3.5 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg survey. While the stockpiles are falling, production was ramped up according to analysts. The rise in production is expected to counter the fall in oil supply by the OPEC, leaving the price of oil below the $50-mark.
Slow Start?
The Singapore traded SGX Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty 50 Index's performance in India, was little changed at 9,688.
India Grid Trust, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by Sterlite Power Grid Ventures Ltd, will make its stock market debut today. The issue was fully subscribed on the final day with investors bidding 1.35 times the issue size.
The Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, will announce its bi-monthly policy on Wednesday. A BloombergQuint poll of 10 economists showed that the central bank will leave the rates unchanged.
Also Read: RBI Likely To Hold Rates Despite Slower Growth, Easing Inflation
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