How major USA stock market indexes fared on Tuesday

The Dow lost 44 points to close at 20,837 and the S&P fell eight points to 2,365.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 8.75 points, or 0.16 percent, on volume of 4,677 contracts. Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.1 percent, while contracts on South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2 percent.

Attention is turning to whether Yellen and her colleagues will signal an even faster pace of monetary tightening this year than the current three rate hikes that it projected at the December policy meeting.

Friday’s employment report reinforced a long-running belief the world’s top economy was on a strong growth track and focus is now on the conclusion of the central bank’s policy meeting Wednesday, hoping for clues about the next increase. The producer price index came in above expectations, with prices growing 2.2% in the year to February, slightly above the 2% consensus.

A recovery in oil and metals prices spurred most of. The sector was down 0.4 percent in early trading. The CAC 40 in France was 0.1 percent higher at 4,978. However delays in tax return payments be holding spending back somewhat. Activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square said Monday it has sold its investment in the company. While a rate increase from the US central bank was largely anticipated, whether policymakers would signal a more aggressive pace of monetary tightening remained less certain. The Twinkie maker filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012 and was acquired by private equity firm Gores Group in the middle of past year. Its stock rose 42 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $16.35.

Asia’s emerging markets bore the brunt of the taper tantrum and saw $11 billion in bond and equity outflows due to the sharp rise in Treasury yields following Trump’s victory. On Wednesday, oil prices bounced after a slump in USA trading fueled by oversupply concerns. The West Texas Intermediate US crude marker was up 2% to $48.66 a barrel, while Brent, the global benchmark, rose 1.7% to $51.77 a barrel.

Oil prices settled 65 cents to $47.75 USA per barrel. Some commodity markets are also trading at all-time highs: we have written previously on the copper market, but cotton too has been having an excellent run.

The Dow is down 65.61, or 0.3 percent.

The Russell 2000 is up 5.25, or 0.4 percent.

Among peripheral lenders, Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Unicredit (MI:CRDI) traded up 0.49% and 0.14% respectively, while Spanish banks BBVA (MC:BBVA) inched up 0.10% but Banco Santander (MC:SAN) traded down 0.75%.