Markets digest the deadly terror attack in Manchester.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Manchester terror attack
The British Pound (GBP) fell against the yen, euro and dollar on Tuesday after at least 22 people were killed and 59 injured by a suspected suicide bomber at a pop concert in the English city of Manchester.
Police confirmed that 22 people were killed, including some children, and 59 injured after an explosion at Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande.
The attacker was a man acting alone, who died at the scene after detonating an improvised explosive device, the police said.
The attack came just 2 weeks before an election that British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to win easily, although polls showing that the contest was tightening added to sterling's woes.
2. Global stocks mostly lower
Global stock markets were mixed in cautious trade on Tuesday, as investors reacted to the news of a deadly suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester.
Most Asian indexes closed in negative territory, with Japan's Nikkei ending down around 0.4%, while China's Shanghai Composite shed about 0.5%.
In Europe, stocks across the continent inched higher, with Germany's DAX rising 0.3% in mid-morning trade, while London's FTSE 100 gained 0.1%.
On Wall Street, the blue-chip Dow futures pointed to an increase of 34 points, or around 0.2% at the open, the S&P 500 futures ticked up 3 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 8 points.
The dollar index was at a six-month low of 96.74 in New York morning trade, having given up all the gains it had made following the election in November amid ongoing political uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration.
On the data front, flash readings on the manufacturing and services sectors in May will be released at 13:45 GMT. Shortly afterwards, new home sales are expected at 14:00 GMT.
3. Euro zone business activity rises
Euro zone business activity held steady at a more than six-year high in May, according to Markit’s flash composite purchasing managers’ index.
Germany, the motor of the euro area economy, saw growth hit the highest level since April 2011 on the back of strong manufacturing activity that spiked to a 73-month peak.
France also reported good news as its composite PMI hit a 73-month high, buoyed by the services sector as manufacturing activity eased more than expected.
Growth eased across the rest of the single currency area but remained close to a ten-year high.
A separate report showed that German business confidence improved to the highest level on record, indicating that the recovery in the euro area is deepening.
EUR/USD touched a fresh six-month high of 1.1267, extending strong gains from the prior session, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the single currency was "too weak".
4. Bitcoin boom continues
Bitcoin cleared the $2,200-level for the first time on Tuesday to hit yet another all-time high, as a monster rally continues amid noises around the future of the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin rose to a daily peak of $2,209.79 on the New York-based itBit exchange at one point, its highest on record.
Prices are up almost 60% so far in May. Since the start of the year, the price of bitcoin has soared roughly 124%, taking the total value of the cryptocurrency in circulation to around $37 billion.
