US new home sales rose 7.3pct in April to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 - the highest rate since December. Median home prices were up 4.6pct from a year earlier. The supply of homes on the market for sale fell from 7.2 to 6.5 months worth - a one year low. The Richmond Fed manufacturing Index fell from +10 to -6 in April. The index was dragged down by a decline in new orders and shipments.

[Sign up for our Global Markets Newsletter]

European shares edged higher on Tuesday after the previous sessions sharp falls. Mining and energy stocks were the biggest gainers on the strength in commodity prices. BHP gained 1.5pct while Rio Tinto rallied by 2pct. The STOXX Basic Resources Index rose 1.4pct. Germany´s economic prospects remained buoyant with the Ifo Business Climate Index unchanged in April against expectations of a decline. The FTSEurofirst index closed up 0.2pct while the German Dax and UK FTSE both gained 0.4pct.

US sharemarkets continued its recent slide on Tuesday, though volumes were light. Concerns about the pace of the US economic recovery hurt cyclical stocks, with the S&P industrial sector losing 0.6pct. Energy shares received a boost from the higher oil price with the S&P Energy sector up 1.3pct. Overall the S&P 500 closed at its lowest level in a month and ended below its 50-day moving average for a second straight day. The Dow Jones fell by 25pts or 0.2pct with the S&P 500 down 0.1pct and the Nasdaq lost almost 13pts or 0.5pct.

US treasuries rose on Tuesday (yields lower) as the worries over Europe continued to see investors shift to safe-haven assets. The auction of $35 billion in two-year notes was met with solid demand. US 2yr yields fell by 3pts to 0.507pct and US 10yr yields fell by 2pts to 3.116pct.

The US dollar eased against the Euro following the upbeat German economic data. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.4035 to US$1.4130, ending US trade near US$1.4105. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US105.30c to US105.75c before ending US trade near US105.55c. And the Japanese yen eased from 81.60 yen per US dollar to around JPY82.20, ending US trade near JPY81.90.

US crude oil prices rallied on Tuesday driven by the weaker US dollar. A broker upgrade for Brent crude prices also supported the bid for oil. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US$1.89 or 1.9pct to US$99.59 a barrel and London Brent crude rose by US$2.43 to US$112.53 a barrel.

Base metal prices rose on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday, recovering part of the sharp losses from the prior session. Metals rose between 0.8-3.5pct with nickel faring best. And the gold price rallied on Tuesday, in response to weaker US dollar, with Comex gold futures up by US$7.90 an ounce to US$1,523.30.

Ahead: In Australia construction work done for the March quarter is released. In the US durable goods orders is released.

More from IBT Markets:
Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox daily
Follow us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter.