The Australian sharemarket is pointing to a weaker open ahead of a busy reporting session.

Ahead of the open, BHP reported a 28% drop in first half underlying EBITDA, while Coles said that 1H net profit rose 17% and that Leah Weckert would become CEO from May 1. Also due to report today Seek, Stockland and Tabcorp. The ASX 200 edged higher by less than 0.1% on Monday thanks to a bounce by bank shares. The RBA will also release the minutes from its February meeting at 11:30am AEDT.

European shares inched higher overnight with US markets closed for a holiday.

ASX futures were pointing 29 points or 0.4% down as of 8:00am on Tuesday.

European stocks hovered around the flatline overnight in a subdued session with US markets closed for Presidents Day.

In commodity markets, Brent crude bounced as traders refocus on demand in China and Europe. Brent crude oil rose 1.1% to US$83.90 a barrel and WTI added 1.1% to US$77.35 a barrel. Gold was flat at US$1,841.38

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds sits at 3.52% while the 10 Year is 3.81%. In the US, the yield on 2 Year Treasury notes is 4.62% while the 10 Year leaped to 3.81%.

The Australian dollar rose to 69.13 US cents.

Asia

Chinese stocks ended higher after a muted opening, starting the week on a strong note.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.1% to settle at 3290.34, while the Shenzhen Composite Index was 1.7% higher at 2161.66.

The ChiNext Price Index gained 1.3% to 2480.79. Tech companies led gains, with China Telecom rising by the 10% daily limit. The advance came after media reports about the company's artificial-intelligence infrastructure business buoyed investor sentiment.

Japanese stocks ended slightly higher, led by gains in financial stocks thanks partly to the prospects of higher interest rates.

Nomura Holdings gained 3.2% and life insurer T&D Holdings advanced 1.7%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.1% to 27531.94. Investors are focusing on the yen, bond yields and any policy-related developments.

USD/JPY is at 134.07, compared with 134.04 late Friday in New York. The 20-year Japanese government bond yield rises half-a-basis point to 1.315%, while the 10-year yield stays flat at 0.500%.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index ended 0.8% higher at 20886.96, as more investors entered the market following last week's choppy trade.

Shares of China telecommunication majors advanced following a report that China Telecom is developing an AI-powered chatbot. China Telecom added 3.8% and China Unicom rose 3.4%. Developers also outperformed, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index up 2.7%.

Europe

European stocks closed mixed, lacking momentum as the US market remained closed for a public holiday.

The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 edged 0.1% higher, but the FTSE 100 and DAX closed flat and the CAC 40 fell 0.2%.

"European investors will be wary about taking big positions in the absence of their cousins across the water," IG analysts said in a note.

"Wednesday's Fed minutes are perhaps the main event of the week, with tomorrow's flash PMI figures from around the globe as a warm-up."

North America

Wall Street remained closed Monday for a public holiday.

Data this week could give an indication of how sticky US inflation is likely to remain in the near future and how economic growth is holding up - two crucial questions for investors as they try to assess the outlook for central-bank policy and corporate profits.

"There's this new narrative that we will see a pause in inflation before it falls," said Edward Park, chief investment officer at UK investment firm Brooks Macdonald.

"The stickier inflation is, the tougher the Federal Reserve will need to be."

Stocks could be weighed down by rising concerns about US rate increases, said Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at Julius Baer.

"The market could be susceptible to a bit of a panic attack," Mr. Matthews said. Given the strength of the US economy, the worry is that inflation could ease at a slower-than-expected pace, he added.

Two Fed officials last week said they supported a larger rate increase at the central bank's February meeting than the quarter-percentage-point increase the Fed implemented, and two sets of inflation data also came in hotter than expected. Minutes from that Fed meeting are set to be published Wednesday.

S&P Global's monthly surveys of manufacturing and service sectors around the world are due Tuesday. And the Commerce Department will publish its personal-consumption expenditures price index Friday - a gauge of inflation closely watched by the Fed. Another yardstick, the consumer-price index, showed annual inflation cooled slightly in January, though the pace of moderation has leveled off.

This week will also bring quarterly results from large companies including Walmart, Home Depot and the Chinese technology giant Alibaba.