Asian And European Stocks Mostly Higher Ahead Of Central Bank Meetings And Key US Earnings Reports

Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors and traders anxiously await Thursday's Bank of Japan meeting in which the central bank may introduce negative lending rates. Investors and traders were bearish on Japanese stocks as the country's Nikkei index lost 0.49 percent. On the other hand, India's Mumbai Sensex index gained 1.28 percent and closed above the 26,000 mark for the first time since early January. China's Shanghai index gained 0.61 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.48 percent and Taiwan's TSEC index gained 0.25 percent. Australia's ASX index lost 0.29 percent. European stocks were trading near flat to slightly higher with more than 4 hours of trading remaining. UK's FTSE index outperformed its European counterparts and was higher by 0.26 percent while Switzerland's Swiss Market Index gained 0.16 percent. France's CAC index was lower by 0.12 percent and Germany's DAX index was slightly lower by 0.01 percent. Gold futures, along with most metals, were trading lower. Oil prices inched higher Monday morning on a weakened US dollar but oil experts continue to warn of an imminent trade war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "The biggest bear risk to the oil market right now is that Iran's ramp-up accelerates and then that Saudi Arabia does the same,"

quoted analysts at Citi as saying in research note. "If anyone had a doubt about Saudi Aramco's ability to use its logistical system and spot sales to increase market share, its recent 730,000-barrel sale of a cargo to a Chinese teapot refiner in Shandong should lay any doubts to rest."