What you need2know:

• SPI futures up 2 pts at 5292

• AUD at 84.46 US cents, 100.69 Japanese yen, 68.20 Euro cents and 54.00 British pence

• Late on Wall St, S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.6%

• In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.2%, FTSE +1.3%, CAC +0.3%, DAX -0.3%

• Spot gold down 1.2% to $US1197.38 an ounce

• Brent oil falls 2.2% to $US71.00 per barrel

• Iron ore slips 0.6% to $US70.67 per metric tonne

What’s on today

Australia GDP economic growth, AiGroup services index, UBS is holding an Australian iron ore and coal seminar in Sydney; US Beige Book, ADP national employment; UK services PMI; Canada rates statement.

Stocks to watch

UBS is holding an Australian iron ore and coal seminar in Sydney. Oroton and TPG are hosting AGMs. CSL is holding an investor day.

Foster Stockbroking maintains a “buy” rating on Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd and a 12-month price target at $5.80 a share.

RBC Capital markets has maintained an “outperform” on Fortescue Metals Group and a price target of $4.50 a share.

The following stocks will trade ex dividend today: BT Investment Management and Fisher & Paykel.

Currencies

The Russian rouble gave up early gains on Tuesday after the Economy Ministry said it expects a recession next year and sees the currency remaining weak.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of 10 trading partners, rose 0.7 per cent to 1111.46 in New York afternoon trade, which would be its highest closing level since March 2009. The gauge has climbed 9 percent this year, poised for its biggest advance since at least 2004.

“Dollar strength is here to stay, and it is going to only continue as we move toward less accommodative policy,” Jennifer Vail, the head of fixed income at Minneapolis-based US Bank Wealth Management, which oversees $US120 billion, said. “We’re seeing some continuing signs of stabilisation in growth domestically.”

Commodities

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange shed 0.53 per cent to end at $US6415 a tonne, paring 1.5-per cent gains from the previous session, when prices bounced from 4-1/2 year lows of $US6230.75 a tonne.

Brazil’s Vale is considering listing part of its global base metals business in Toronto and London, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the plan, as the miner looks to fund capital projects amid a collapse in iron ore prices.

The CME Group, the world's largest commodities exchange, said initial margins for crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange will go up by 15.6 per cent from the close of business on Tuesday, raising the financial requirements for oil traders as the market turned more volatile.

United States

Stocks rose modestly on Tuesday afternoon as a pair of big M&A deals boosted market optimism and helped the market rebound from the broad decline in the previous session, which was the S&P 500’s weakest day in a month.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp agreed to buy Spansion Inc in an all-stock deal valued at about $US4 billion.Separately, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it would buy Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc for about $US3.5 billion.

Construction spending rose 1.1 per cent, the largest gain since May, to an annual rate of $US970.99 billion, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.

Europe

European share market indexes rose on Tuesday, helped by a rebound in energy stocks after crude oil prices bounced up from the five-year lows hit on Monday.

BP featured among the top gainers, up 3.6 per cent, with several traders citing market talk of a takeover bid from rival Royal Dutch Shell. Shell declined to comment, while no one at BP was available for comment.

Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras promised on Tuesday that if elected, he would swiftly scrap the country's EU/IMF bailout without waiting for the outcome of talks with lenders.

What happened yesterday

Australian shares posted their strongest session in five months in a relief rally that clawed back some of the heavy losses of the previous two sessions.

On Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.4 per cent to 5280.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index added 1.3 per cent to 5260 points.

Stocks found support after the oil price rose and the Reserve Bank of Australia held the official cash rate at its record low 2.5 per cent for the 15th consecutive month.