SINGAPORE (April 11): Global stock markets were pressured on Tuesday as rising tensions in the Middle East and political uncertainty in Europe kept investors on edge, underpinning safe assets such as the yen, gold and Treasuries. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, while Tokyo's Nikkei slipped 0.55 percent, dragged lower by a stronger yen. Australian stocks retreated almost 0.1 percent, after hitting their highest level since April 2015 on Monday. Overnight, Wall Street ended a choppy session little changed, weighed down by nervousness about quarterly corporate earnings later this week. The market jitters and a weaker dollar were a boon for gold, which rose for a third consecutive session.

Source: The Edge Markets April 11, 2017 00:45 UTC