WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has surged more than one US cent on the back of an oil price recovery.
At 0700 AEST on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 77.49 US cents, up from 76.50 cents on Monday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower despite a strong positive lead from Wall Street where the Dow Jones closed at a nine-month high, buoyed by Hasbro and Disney.
At 0645 AEST on Tuesday, the share price index was down 17 points at 5,129.
ELSEWHERE:
TOKYO - The Japanese share market fell more than three per cent after a series of earthquakes measuring up to 7.3 magnitude struck a southern manufacturing hub, killing at least 42 people and forcing major companies to close factories.
NEW YORK - Argentina has returned to the international bond markets for the first time in 15 years as it winds down a long-running battle with investors following its 2001 default.
WASHINGTON - US homebuilders' confidence held steady in April, reflecting an overall optimistic outlook in the market for new homes even as a gauge of current sales fell slightly.
PARIS - French cosmetics maker L'Oreal says its sales edged up 1.8 per cent in the first three months of the year to 6.55 billion euros ($A9.68 billion) as gains in its main markets in Western Europe and North America offset a decline in Latin America.
PURCHASE - PepsiCo's net income and sales dipped in the first quarter, stung by a strong US dollar and some weakness overseas.
PARIS - Wine exporters are toasting an upturn in Chinese wine consumption in 2015 after a two-year decline, as a growing taste there for reds helped global wine trade expand.
LONDON - Britain will be permanently poorer if it votes to leave the European Union, with each household standing to lose STG4,300 ($A7,100) each year, Britain's finance minister says.
PARIS - Counterfeited and pirated goods accounted for up to 2.5 per cent of world trade, or as much as $US461 billion ($A603 billion), significantly damaging companies and state coffers, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says.
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