HONG KONG – Asian shares were mixed and US treasury yields slipped on Tuesday as markets, boosted by the weekend passage of a long-delayed $1 trillion US infrastructure bill, awaited the release of inflation data from the United States.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 0.68 percent while Australian shares were down 0.24 percent as losses in the financial sector offset early gains among heavyweight mining stocks.
European share markets were set for a softer open, with pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.41 percent, German DAX futures off 0.31 percent while FTSE futures dropped 0.39 percent. US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were down 0.22 percent.
On Monday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq extended their run of all-time closing highs to eight straight sessions.
A 4.9 percent decline in Tesla Inc shares however weighed on the S&P 500. Tesla fell after Chief Executive Elon Musk's Twitter poll on whether he should sell about 10 percent of his stock in the electric automaker. The poll garnered more than 3.5 million votes, with 57.9 percent voting "Yes".
World shares also rose on Monday after hitting a record high last week as relatively dovish central bank messages and strong US labor data on Friday added to optimism generated by a healthy earnings season on both sides of the Atlantic.
But a tight US labor market and the dislocation in global supply chains could result in a high reading for consumer prices on Wednesday. Strong inflation likely would rekindle talk of Federal Reserve raising interest rates earlier than expected.
"Although Chair Powell maintains the Fed can be patient with regards to rate hikes, with measures of underlying inflation and wages intensifying and broadening, the clock is ticking on how long the “it” can hold that line," ANZ analysts said in a note.
US Treasury yields dipped after Randal Quarles, who served as the US Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision and most powerful bank regulator until last month, announced Monday he will step down as a bank governor at year's end.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes touched 1.4741 percent compared with its US close of 1.497 percent on Monday. The two-year yield fell to 0.4148 percent compared with a US close of 0.449 percent.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was down at 93.919.
Oil prices remained steady as the passage of the US infrastructure bill.
Saudi Arabia's state-owned producer Aramco also raised the official selling price for its crude.
US crude dipped less than 0.1 percent to $81.86 a barrel. Brent crude stood at $83.31 per barrel.
Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold was traded at $1,823.1742 per ounce.