The dithering mood is set to continue in Europe where the focus will be on earnings from firms including SAP and UniCredit. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures both dipped 0.5%, while FTSE futures eased 0.3%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit its highest level since October 2021 in early Asian hours but was last down 0.4%. The index is up nearly 16% this year.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record-high closes on Monday.

The Japanese markets returned to action after a holiday on Monday following the weekend's election where the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, although Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba vowed to remain in his post.

Japanese shares briefly jumped at the open but reversed course to trade lower by Tuesday afternoon, as the election results were largely priced in and were not as bad as investors had feared.

The Yen rallied 1% on Monday, recouping some of the losses from past weeks and was last slightly weaker at 147.73 per Dollar.

--Reuters--