Wall Street’s Rally Continues, Asian Futures Point to Small Gains\n\nAsian equity futures pointed to small gains on Tuesday after Wall Street extended its relentless rally, buoyed by a burst of deals. Tempered messaging from Federal Reserve officials, the S&P 500 index rose 0.5% on Monday as more than $40 billion of mergers and acquisitions hit the wire. The Nasdaq 100 also closed at a record for the second consecutive session.\n\nJapanese and Australian shares were set to trade marginally higher, while Hong Kong futures declined. The rally in Treasuries took a breather on Monday, with yields climbing and the dollar steadying as the yen weakened.\n\nTraders will be watching Japan as the nation’s central bank begins a two-day policy meeting. While speculation has grown that the Bank of Japan will soon end the world’s last negative-rate regime, economists see April as the most likely timing for a change, according to a Bloomberg survey.\n\nIn China, weakness in the struggling property sector continues to weigh on its economic recovery. China South City Holdings Ltd. Warned it can’t pay interest due Wednesday, raising the risk of default.\n\nOn Wall Street, the S&P 500 has enjoyed a seven-week bull run. Whether or not that will extend into an eighth week may be determined by near-term data readouts, including durable goods orders, personal consumption expenditures, and the final third quarter gross domestic product estimate.\n\nThe fear gauge for Wall Street, the VIX, continued to hover around 12, within striking distance of recent multi-year lows. Fed officials, including Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, have joined a growing chorus seeking to moderate market optimism on rate cuts.\n\nMeanwhile, European Central Bank Governing Council member Bostjan Vasle took a cautious tone following ECB President Christine Lagarde’s comments last week that the bank had not discussed cuts at all.\n\nIn commodities, gold moved higher, while oil extended last week’s rise as major shipping lines suspended transit through the Red Sea. Bitcoin also slumped.\n\nDespite tempered messaging from Federal Reserve officials, Wall Street’s rally continued with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 reaching new highs.