Equities

• Asian stocks fell Tuesday amid speculation that China will raise interest rate to tackle rising inflation
  • The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.8% to 132.59 in Tokyo
  • Nikkei 225 advanced 0.9 % to 10,232.33 while Australia’a S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 0.6% to 4.699.90
• US stocks fell Tuesday afternoon, following US President’s Obama announcement that tax cuts will be extended for the next two years  
  • The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 1,223.75 and DJIA dropped by almost  0.2%, to 11,359.16

Bonds

• Treasuries dropped Tuesday, amid speculation demand will diminish at an auction today as the US may need to sell more debt to fund tax cut extensions
  • Treasuries 10-year yields rose to 3.22% early morning in London
  • The 30-year yield increased to 4.43%
• Wednesday, German 10-year bonds fell sending the yield to 3% as the US Treasuries fell and worries over the region’s debt crisis eased
  • The 10-year bund yield rose seven basis points to 3.02% early morning in London

Commodities

• Tuesday, oil dropped 0.8% to $88.69 in the New York, as traders locked in profits from the recent rally
  • January contract fell 1.2% to $87.62 in New York
• Gold dropped 1% to 1,338.45 an ounce, following an increase in the dollar and profit-takings by investors