In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei share average rose to its highest level since late 1991 on Tuesday, as a firmer dollar supported exporter stocks and expectations for strong corporate earnings bolstered investor sentiment. The Nikkei ended 1 percent higher at 23,951.81 after reaching an intraday peak of 23,962.07, its highest since November 1991. Exporters were lifted as the dollar on Tuesday bounced back from four-month lows versus the yen. Toyota Motor Corp added 1.05 percent, Tokyo Electron rose 1.6 percent and Panasonic Corp climbed 0.6 percent. Information technology service provider Obic Co rose as much as 7.9 percent to an 18-year peak after the Nikkei business daily reported that the company’s operating profit for the nine months through December likely rose by a fifth.

In Currency Markets the euro held steady on Tuesday, taking a breather after having rallied on the back of optimism about the euro zone’s economic outlook and expectations for the European Central Bank to wind down its massive monetary stimulus. Comments by the Estonian central bank chief and ECB rate-setter Ardo Hansson on Monday reinforced those expectations, with Hansson telling a German newspaper that the ECB could end its 2.55 trillion euro bond-buying scheme in one step after September if the economy and inflation develop as now expected. The euro last traded at $1.2263, staying within sight of Monday’s peak of about $1.2296, its strongest since December 2014. Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 110.93 yen, edging away from a four-month low of 110.32 yen set on Monday.

In Commodities Markets Brent crude prices consolidated recent gains at around $70 a barrel on Tuesday, a level not seen since 2014’s dramatic oil market decline. Prices have been driven up by production curbs in OPEC nations and Russia, as well by strong demand thanks to healthy economic growth. Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent, to $70 per barrel from the previous day’s close. Brent hit $70.37 a barrel on Monday, a December 2014 high. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.48 a barrel up 0.3 percent from their last settlement. WTI hit a December-2014 peak of $64.89 a barrel in early trading. Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday to hold just below a four-month high touched in the previous session, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar languishing near three-year lows.

In US Equity Markets trading activity was closed on Tuesday in light of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices were steady to slightly firmer on Tuesday, after an auction of 2.2 trillion yen ($19.8 billion) five-year government bonds attracted strong demand. The auction drew bids 5.24 times the offer, the highest bid-to-cover ratio in 4-1/2-years, with the lowest price coming in higher than expected. Following the tender, the five-year yield fell 1.0 basis point to minus 0.090 percent, edging further away from its three-month high of minus 0.075 percent touched last week. The 10-year JGB futures price also ticked up 0.04 point to 150.51 while the yield on the cash 10-year JGB was flat at 0.070 percent. The market had no reaction to data showing Japan’s wholesale prices in December rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier, slightly less than expectations of 3.2 percent.

Today’s inflection points

• 10:30 GMT+1 GBP PPI – input
• 10:30 GMT+1 GBP CPI
• 10:30 GMT+1 GBP CPI core
• 14:30 GMT+1 USD Empire Manufacturing PMI