Chinese stocks outperformed Asian equities after the nation’s sovereign wealth fund bought exchange-traded funds to shore up the market. Treasuries stabilised following a volatile session on Monday.
A gauge of the dollar retreated, giving a boost to emerging Asian currencies such as the Thai baht, South Korea’s won and Indonesian rupiah. Oil edged higher in Asia trading after dropping the most since Hamas’ attack on Israel as Tel Aviv was seen holding off on an invasion of Gaza amid hostage negotiations, containing the conflict for the time being. There are growing calls inside the country to rethink the scope of a ground invasion of Gaza. China reiterated that Israel must protect civilians even as it has the right to defend itself in a conflict.
Bitcoin extended a rally fueled by expectations of fresh demand from exchange-traded funds, reaching the highest price since May last year.