Oct 29, V7N- Asian stocks showed a mixed performance in volatile trading on Tuesday as investors braced for a series of earnings reports from major tech companies on Wall Street, beginning with Alphabet, Google's parent company, later in the day. The U.S. dollar hovered near a three-month high, awaiting the JOLTS job openings report, a key employment indicator, ahead of the monthly non-farm payrolls data due on Friday. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields eased slightly from their recent three-month peaks.
 
The Japanese yen stabilized after a significant drop on Monday, which followed the ruling coalition's poor showing in weekend elections, creating uncertainty around fiscal and monetary policies. The Nikkei index recovered from a cautious start, gaining 0.65% after a 1.82% rise the previous session.
 
In the U.S., the election race is tightening, with polls indicating a close contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, even as betting markets lean toward Trump.
 
Crude oil prices increased slightly after a sharp decline on Monday, as the situation in the Middle East showed signs of stabilizing following Israel's decision not to target oil and nuclear facilities in its retaliatory strikes against Iran.
 
The Nikkei index rose to 0.65% as of 0213 GMT, recovering from an early dip of 0.21%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index also gained 0.65%, paring earlier gains of 1.6%. In mainland China, blue-chip stocks saw a minor decline of 0.1%, reversing an early increase of 0.68%.
 
U.S. S&P 500 futures were flat after the cash index closed up 0.26% overnight. Markets analyst Tony Sycamore noted a lack of conviction in pushing markets higher, suggesting it might not be the right time to chase risk.
 
This week, key earnings reports are expected from major tech companies, including Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. 
 
The dollar remained relatively stable against a basket of major currencies, with the dollar index at 104.24, having previously reached 104.57, its highest level since July 30. Strong U.S. economic data and a resilient job market have reduced expectations for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, supporting the dollar.
 
U.S. Treasury yields eased to 4.272%, down from a recent high of 4.3%. The dollar slipped 0.24% to 152.92 yen, after hitting its highest point since July 31 at 153.885 yen on Monday.
 
In Japan, following the coalition's electoral losses, a period of negotiation is expected to secure a new coalition, complicating fiscal spending and the Bank of Japan's plans to normalize interest rates. The central bank is set to meet on Thursday, with no major policy changes anticipated.
 
The euro held steady at $1.0814, and the British pound remained flat at $1.2973. Gold prices increased by 0.35% to $2,751.76 an ounce, approaching last week’s record high. Crude oil prices saw modest gains, with Brent crude futures up 0.6% to $71.86 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rising 0.7% to $67.83 a barrel, following a 6% drop on Monday.
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