1. Global markets turns higher

Investors are feeling a lot calmer right now following a big bout of Trump-inspired volatility.

U.S. stock futures are holding steady, and European markets are mostly edging up in early trading. Most Asian markets ended the day with modest gains.

The Nikkei in Japan was a standout performer, closing with a 1.1% boost.

This comes after the Dow Jones industrial average fell for its eighth day in a row on Monday, its longest slump since 2011. The S&P 500 was also down 0.1% on Monday. But the Nasdaq was up 0.2%.

It's worth keeping in mind that U.S. stocks are not far off their highest levels ever, which were hit earlier this month.

In economics, the U.S. Conference Board is set to release its March Consumer Confidence report at 14:00 GMT.

2. Dollar recovers

The dollar steadied against a basket of the other major currencies on Tuesday, a day after falling to the lowest level since November as jitters over Donald Trump's setback on healthcare reform gave way to tentative hopes for the U.S. president's planned tax cuts.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 99.06 in New York morning trade. It fell to 98.67 on Monday, a level not seen since November 11.

USD/JPY was at 110.70, bouncing back from a four-month low of 110.09 reached in the prior session. Meanwhile, the euro was at 1.0860 against the greenback, after climbing to its highest since December 8 at 1.0905 on Monday.

3. GBP solid, Rand crashes

The British pound held near 1-month highs against the dollar on Tuesday, as investors braced for British Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, formally beginning the two-year process of exiting the European Union.

May will send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday formally announcing Britain's withdrawal from the bloc.

The correspondence will start the clock ticking on a two-year countdown to Brexit and allow negotiations to start between London and Brussels in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Currency traders are pushing down the value of the South African rand based on fears that President Jacob Zuma is about to give the boot to his respected finance minister, Pravin Gordhan.

The rand plunged on Monday and is down a further 1% Tuesday versus the U.S. dollar.

Gordhan is the country's third finance minister in the last 18 months.

4. Amazon goes shopping

Amazon announced this morning it's acquiring Souq, the Arab world's biggest online retailer.

For many in the Middle East, Souq.com is the online shopping platform. The company was recently valued above $1 billion, according to CB Insights.

In other news, shares in Australian hotel and resort firm Mantra Group surged by 12% overnight based on a local report saying Marriott is considering a bid for the company. Mantra is worth about 872 million Australian dollars ($662 million).

Shares in Red Hat and Darden Restaurants were surging in extended trading as investors cheered their latest quarterly results. Darden also announced Monday it's buying Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for $780 million in cash.