The following is an overview of global overnight markets:
——Foreign exchange market
The dollar strengthened on Tuesday as falling oil prices prompted investors to avoid risk assets. In late trading in the currency market, the Wall Street Journal U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.7% to 86.81. Falling oil prices helped lift the dollar against currencies of commodity producers. USD/CAD rose 1% to C$1.3168. Investors are also awaiting the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on September 20-21, trying to weigh whether the central bank will raise interest rates in the coming months.
——Stock Market
U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday. The Dow closed down 1.4%, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and the Nasdaq fell 1.1%. After two consecutive months of single-day fluctuations of less than 1%, the S&P 500 fell more than 1% for the third consecutive trading day. Global stocks and bonds have been volatile in recent sessions as investors focus on the direction of the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. Some investors say the market is likely to remain volatile. Investors face numerous risk factors.
——U.S. Treasury Bonds
U.S. Treasuries fell again on Tuesday, underscoring the market's vulnerability to changes in investor sentiment amid rising valuations and growing doubts about the policy outlook of major global central banks. Tuesday's losses deepened a Treasury market rout that began last Thursday, erasing some of the gains in Treasuries earlier this year. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield closed at 1.732%, its highest closing level since June 23, from 1.671% on Monday.
——Commodity Market
Crude oil futures retreated on Tuesday as data from the International Energy Agency showed weak demand growth. U.S. crude oil futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $1.39, or 3%, to $44.90 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures on the European ICE Futures Exchange fell $1.22, or 2.52%, to $47.10 a barrel. Gold futures swung between gains and losses on Tuesday as uncertainty clouded investor expectations for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The settlement price of gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.1% to US$1,323.70 per ounce, marking the fifth consecutive day of decline. It rose to an intraday high of US$1,330.50 per ounce. Copper futures ended slightly higher on Tuesday as upbeat Chinese industrial data boosted prices. The settlement price of copper futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.1% to US$2.1015/lb, after falling to US$2.0915/lb during the session. Three-month copper futures settlement price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose $2 to $4,650 per ton.
——European stock markets
European stocks ended volatilely lower on Tuesday as falling oil prices once again dragged down energy stocks. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1% to 338.72 points, after rising 0.6% in early trading. Oil and gas stocks were the worst performers, falling 2.8%. One reason for the decline in European stocks was investors assessing mixed messages from Federal Reserve officials. Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.4% to 10386.6 points. France's CAC 40 index fell 1.2% to 4387.18 points. The UK's FTSE 100 index fell 0.5% to 6665.63 points.
Source: Dow Jones
