Sep 06, 2022 02:43AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
On Tuesday afternoon, Asian stocks largely erased their morning gains as investors remained cautious ahead of this week's European Central Bank meeting while watching the implications of a reduction in gas supplies from Russia.
U.S. stocks are expected to open higher on Tuesday after Monday's Labor Day break, with E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index up 0.31%.
Futures for the FTSE index, however, fell 0.2%, suggesting a choppy start to trading in London. European stock indexes fell on Monday, the euro fell below 99 cents for the first time in two decades, and European gas prices rose after Russia announced that its main gas pipeline to Europe would remain closed.
MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.02 percent at 0532 GMT. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.03 percent.
China's benchmark CSI300 index rose 0.58 percent after the country's policymakers on Monday pledged new efforts to stimulate the economy hit by the COVID crisis. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index, however, fell 0.07 percent.
The yuan also rebounded from a more than two-year low against the U.S. dollar after the central bank said it would cut its foreign exchange reserve ratio to support the currency.
The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.36 points after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the cash rate by 50 basis points, as expected.
The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday to discuss interest rate action. A meeting of the US Federal Reserve will follow on September 21.
At an extraordinary meeting on Friday, European energy ministers will discuss measures to curb electricity prices.