Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US stocks ended mixed ahead of inflation data and earnings from Home Depot and Walmart.

ASX futures were up 0.53% or 41 points as of 8:30am on Tuesday, suggesting a higher open.

The US stock market remained on edge Monday, with Wall Street searching for direction after one of its wildest weeks in years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.4%, or about 141 points, while the S&P 500 finished roughly flat. Fueled by a jump in Nvidia shares, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.2% advance.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 3.3% to US$82.30 a barrel, while gold was flat at US$2,472.81.

The Australian dollar was at 65.84 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower, weighed by real estate and consumer services stocks. Investor sentiment, which got a temporary lift last week from Shenzhen city's move to buy unsold apartments, failed to sustain in today's session. Poly Developments & Holdings Group Co. dropped 3.4% and China Vanke fell 4.2%. Among the consumer services stocks, China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. shed 1.4% and BTG Hotels (Group) declined 1.2%. Pharmaceutical stocks gained with Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine adding 2.85%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.1% lower at 2,858.20, the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.5% and the ChiNext Price Index edged 0.2% lower.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.1% higher at 17,111.65 in range-bound trading, swinging between positive and negative territories. This week is likely about consolidation and healing for Asian markets, as the volatility storm from the unwinding of yen carry trades subsides, the UOB Global Economics & Markets Research team says in a note. Among winners, Wuxi Biologics rose 3.7%, Lenovo Group gained 2.6% and Orient Overseas (International) added 2.25%. Among decliners, China Unicom (Hong Kong) fell 5.8%, Galaxy Entertainment Group lost 4.4% and Sands China shed 2.9%.

Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in banks and trading houses as concerns about the U.S. labor market ease. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group gained 3.7% and Itochu Corp. climbed 6.1%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6% to 35,025.00. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield was up 2.5 basis points to 0.855%. Investors are focusing on earnings and any potential escalation of conflicts in the Middle East.

Indian shares ended slightly lower, dragged by energy stocks. NTPC shed 2.4% and Power Grid Corp. of India fell 1.4%. Leading the gains were Axis Bank, which climbed 1.8%, Infosys, which rose 1.5%, and Tata Motors, which added 0.8%. Among individual movers, Ola Electric rose another 20%, adding to Friday's gain in its trading debut. Investors remained cautious ahead of the country's key inflation data due later in the day. The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.1% to 79,648.92.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. rose Monday, as the FTSE 100 Index gained 0.5% to 8210.25.

Among large companies, BT Group PLC was the biggest gainer during the session, surging 8.4%, and Bakkavor Group PLC surged 4.4%. Entain PLC rounded out the top three movers on Monday, as shares gained 4.0%.

JD Sports Fashion PLC posted the largest decline, falling 4.1%, followed by shares of Alphawave IP Group PLC, which fell 3.6%. Shares of Watches of Switzerland Group PLC fell 3.1%.

In other parts of Europe markets closed mostly flat, with the STOXX Europe 600 Index unchanged at 499.08, Germany's DAX unchanged at 17,726.47 and France's CAC 40 fell 0.3% to 7,250.67.

North America

The US stock market remained on edge Monday, with Wall Street searching for direction after one of its wildest weeks in years.

Major indexes gyrated between minor gains and losses throughout the session before posting mixed results at the closing bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.4%, or about 141 points, while the S&P 500 finished roughly flat. Fueled by a jump in Nvidia shares, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.2% advance.

The relatively calm Monday provided investors with a breather following the roller coaster of last week, when a huge selloff eventually gave way to a rebound. Now, many analysts are trying to parse whether stocks can move past economic uncertainty in the U.S. and the reversal of a popular trade to resume their climb.

Fresh data in the coming days will offer clues about the outlook for American consumers and the broader economy. Inflation data is due Wednesday, and a report on retail sales follows a day later. Investors will also get company-level insights in the form of quarterly results from Home Depot and Walmart.

This string of data will help show "if we are bracing for continued volatility in the markets or if we're exiting the volatile period we just witnessed over the past few weeks," Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, told clients in a note.

One key sign of stability comes from the market for government debt. Yields on 10-year Treasurys have held roughly steady in recent days, settling Monday at 3.908%, suggesting investors aren't rushing to gobble up safe assets en masse.

Some analysts, meanwhile, believe that many of the traders who sold off positions early last week on worries about a worsening economic backdrop escaped mostly unscathed.

"When you get a massive, ugly, cross-asset unwind, a lot of emergency rip cords are being pulled in these portfolios," said Andrew Beer, managing member at DBi, a firm that offers exchange-traded funds designed to mimic hedge funds' trend-following trading strategies.

Like many of its counterparts, DBi has slashed its exposure to the yen by about 80% in recent months as the Bank of Japan began raising interest rates. The firm remains bullish on U.S. stocks.

"Nothing moves in a straight line," Beer said. "There is always that noise."

A new variable emerged Monday from oil markets, where prices jumped at their fastest daily rate in 10 months amid heightened fears of a wider war in the Middle East. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 4.2%, to $80.06 a barrel, after Israel put its military on high alert for potential attacks by Iran or Hezbollah.

Even so, many analysts are skeptical that an assault would push up oil prices for an extended period unless the resulting conflict disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for tankers ferrying Iranian exports to refineries in China and elsewhere.