Good afternoon,

In Asia, regional markets are mostly higher this Tuesday, taking their leads from gains on Wall St. However, the Nikkei 225 is lower, down 1% with technology names under pressure following the disappointing revenue numbers from Texas Instruments and IBM. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite are the best performers, both up 1.4% while the Kospi is 0.3% firmer.

Locally, the ASX 200 is 1.1% firmer at 4404, well off its morning lows of 4361.1. From around midday, the market began to rally, with gains among materials and financial names leading the index higher. The move coincided with a significant push higher in the AUDUSD, as well as other regional markets.

It seems a comment or two regarding Chinese growth prospects ignited today's rally, with a Chinese spokeman saying domestic consumption will continue to grow at a relatively fast pace in the second half of the year.

Nonetheless, tonight's going to be a big test for global markets. The strong Asian should certainly help sentiment heading into a jam packed pre-market earnings session featuring the likes of Pepsi, Bank of New York Mellon, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs.