Published on 04/08/2026 - 8:09 GMT+2•Updated 10:29

Besides earnings reports this week, investors continued evaluating effects from last week's joint US-Japan currency intervention, analysts noted.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% to 63,585.58, as the US dollar edged up to 157.51 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The euro stood at $1.1511, nearly steady from $1.1514. The dollar traded at 160-yen levels before regulators acted to lift the yen's value after it dropped to nearly 40-year lows.

Some analysts indicated the success of such an intervention stays unclear since it fails to tackle core economic factors behind currency moves, such as inflation, interest rates and relative economic strengths.

"A US-backed operation holds greater signaling impact than Tokyo acting solo, and the promise of further steps will make speculators hesitate. Yet any US role will likely stay limited in scale," a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, stated.

Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, observed the recent effort might produce results because it signals a genuine shift in monetary policy instead of a single defensive action.

"This marks an historic and significant development for the yen, which substantially boosts confidence in our mildly bullish outlook for the currency," he said.

Markets mixed

European markets began slightly higher on Tuesday morning with France's CAC 40, Germany's Dax and the UK's FTSE 100 all advancing.

In Asia-Pacific trading, South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.3% to 6,174.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2% to 9,129.00. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.5% to 25,881.99, while the Shanghai Composite increased 0.2% to 3,802.61.

Markets stay unsettled by fluctuations in shares of computer chip makers. They have swung up and down for weeks amid concerns over whether their rising revenues from the artificial-intelligence surge will hold.

Dow hits all-time high

On Wall Street, share prices advanced Monday after easing oil prices helped ease inflation concerns. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% and sits just 0.1% below its record set earlier this summer.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks a narrower portion of the US stock market, gained 693 points or 1.3% to an all-time high, while the Nasdaq composite surged 2.1%.

Oil prices rebound

In energy trading in Asia early Tuesday, benchmark US crude rose 84 cents to $81.18 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, increased $1.15 to $84.92 a barrel.

A day earlier, oil prices fell more than 5% after US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had chosen to delay new strikes against Iran following advice from regional allies.

Brent's price swung between $72 and $102 last month as concerns rose and fell over the war in Iran and when oil tankers could resume free passage from the Persian Gulf to supply customers worldwide.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.68% from 4.75% late Friday. It remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war with Iran.