European equity markets expected near equilibrium. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 4,089.91 points (-0.75%), the CAC 40 at 6,558.02 points (-0.98%), the DAX 30 at 15,554.18 points (-0.34%), the FTSE 100 at 7,072.97 points (+0.88%), the SMI at 12,009.17 points (+0.08%), the AEX  at 730.86 points (-0.31%), the BEL 20 at 4,154.38 points (-0.61%), the IBEX 35 at 8,913.70 points (-1.99%), the DJIA at 34,283.27 points (-0.44%), the Nasdaq at 14,500.51 points (+0.98%), the S&P 500  at  4,290.61 points (+0.23%) and the Nikkei 225 at 28,776.85 points (-0.94%).

The exchange rate is down with EUR/USD down 1.1914 (-0.08%), EUR/JPY losing 131.72 (-0.14%) and USD/JPY down 110.57 (-0.06%).

European equity markets could open near balance on Tuesday, held back by fears that the delta variant of the coronavirus and rising cases of infection will force countries to maintain travel restrictions and slow the economy's recovery. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 9.2 points, or 0.1%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 30 was up 16.5 points, or 0.1%, and that on the FTSE 100 was up 6.7 points, or 0.1% as well. Investors will be watching on Tuesday for the release of the consumer price index in Germany for the month of June.

The New York Stock Exchange ended in a contrasting fashion on Monday, even though the rise in technology stocks allowed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices to climb to new all-time highs. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) ended down 0.4%, penalized by the sharp decline of Boeing. The broader S&P 500 index gained 0.2% to a new all-time high of 4,290.61 points. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 1% to 14,500.51 points, thanks in particular to the 4.2% jump in Facebook shares after a court decision favorable to the group. A US federal judge on Monday dismissed two complaints filed last December by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and US states against Facebook for anti-competitive practices, which could have led to the dismantling of the social network.

In Asia, the main indices are falling on Tuesday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.9%, the Shanghai Composite lost 1% and the Hang Seng index fell 0.8% in Hong Kong.

US government bond yields rose slightly on Tuesday morning, after falling on Monday, driven by bond purchases that some attribute to positions before the end of the month and the second quarter. Some strategists have also spoken of an upsurge in global tensions after US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Bond market investors are mostly awaiting Friday's monthly U.S. jobs report, with those focusing on the health of the U.S. economy as it recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. Investors are also analyzing the latest developments around the $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan in the United States.

On the exchange side, the euro is losing some ground on Tuesday morning against the dollar and the yen. The greenback is also down slightly against the Japanese currency. The dollar lost two-thirds of its gains after the Federal Reserve's (Fed) last monetary policy meeting, JPMorgan said. The U.S. currency has been penalized by the highly contrasting rhetoric of U.S. central bankers, including the reaffirmation by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and New York Fed Chairman, John Williams, that the strengthening of inflation was "transitory", explains JPMorgan.

Oil contracts continue their decline on Tuesday, penalized by fears that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will decide, at their meeting this week, to significantly increase production, analysts say. These concerns come at a time when the Delta variant of Covid-19 is spreading and leading to containment and travel restriction measures, CBA explains.

  Travel restrictions are particularly unfavorable to oil demand, as two-thirds of global oil consumption is related to transportation, the bank points out. Oil closed Monday at its lowest level in more than a week, after recently hitting its highest levels since October 2018. At around 7:30 a.m., the August contract for North Sea Brent fell 27 cents to $74.41 a barrel, and the same maturity contract for Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) lost 23 cents to $72.68 a barrel.