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Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at online trading platform IG, said:

Shares in software and cloud company Oracle slid around 6.8% in early trading on Tuesday, after it reported second quarter earnings that just missed Wall Street expectations.

Revenue came in at $14.06bn (£11.01bn) in the second quarter, which was just below estimates of $14.12bn. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 were also slightly short of consensus expectations of $1.48.

These figures still showed growth on Oracle's fiscal first quarter, in which it posted adjusted revenue of $13.31bn and adjusted earnings of $1.39.

Wolfe Research managing director and head of software research Alex Zukin, told Yahoo Finance: "There's the potential for accelerating growth. There's the potential for better infrastructure and [Oracle Cloud Infrastructure] OCI growth as well [in the next couple of quarters].

"I do think that they just have to keep doing what they're doing, and the stock will continue to work."

The boss of the beleaguered London water provider Thames Water has said he supports exec bonuses, as customers grapple with mounting bills.

Rates have gone up in recent times as the company grapples with huge debts, which stood at around £16bn at the end of September.

It also comes amid complaints following evidence of a 40% increase in pollution incidents in the six months to 30 September.

Regulator Ofwat has been brought in to adjudicate on whether a proposed 59% increase in consumer bills will be allowed over the next five years. Bills are bing put up to help service the company's debt pile.

In the UK, shares in international equipment rental company Ashtead (AHT.L) were down 9% on Tuesday morning, after it warned on profits.

In its half-year results, Ashtead said: "Principally as a result of local commercial construction market dynamics in the US, we now guide to Group rental revenue growth for the full year in the range of 3-5% and hence, full year profit lower than our previous expectations."

Separately on Tuesday, Ashtead said it was moving its primary listing to the US, in a blow to the UK market. Ashtead said its company is "substantially a US business, reporting in US dollars, with almost all the group's operating profit (98% in FY24) derived from North America, which is also the core growth market for the business."

In terms of its results for the first half, Ashtead posted 2% revenue growth year-on-year at $5.7bn, though profit before tax fell 4% to $1.2bn.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "It was always a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’ Ashtead would move its main stock listing to the US.

"There is also the Trump factor to consider. He favours American companies doing things for American people. Ashtead is nearly the perfect example but moving its listing to New York is effectively another tick in the box in its favour.

"The next logical move would be to sell its remaining UK operations – they are tiny compared to the US business and offloading them would complete the circle for the pivot to all things Stateside."

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

We have this from David Morrison, senior market analyst at FCA regulated fintech and financial services provider Trade Nation:

Yahoo Finance UK's Vicky McKeever writes:

Chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA) closed Monday's session 2.5% in the red after China opened an antitrust probe into the company amid escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington over AI dominance.

The investigation of Nvidia suspects the company of breaking anti-monopoly law and is also set to probe its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox, which was approved by China's State Administration for Market Regulation under the condition that the chipmaker avoid discriminating against Chinese companies.

An Nvidia spokesperson said on Monday: "We work hard to provide the best products we can in every region and honour our commitments everywhere we do business. We are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business."

The investigation comes a week after president Joe Biden's administration launched semiconductor export restrictions, aimed at limiting China's access to US chips.

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell (AJB.L), said: "It’s another sign of continued tension between the US and China which has put chipmakers up front as potential pawns in what seems to be a game of brinkmanship when it comes to tech development."

Gold (GC=F) prices extended their gains on Tuesday, buoyed by China’s pledge to enhance policy stimulus in a bid to bolster economic growth, as investors also awaited US inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate strategy.

Spot gold rose 0.7%, trading at $2,663.70 per ounce, while US gold futures increased by 0.1%, reaching $2,666.30 at the time of writing.

Gold had reached a two-week high on Monday, supported by the resumption of gold purchases by China's central bank after a six-month hiatus. China's commitment to adopting an "appropriately loose monetary policy" next year, alongside a more proactive fiscal policy, has added to the positive outlook for gold. The Politburo has also indicated a shift away from a "prudent" policy stance that has been in place for nearly 14 years.

Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst for Asia Pacific at OANDA, explained that further interest rate cuts in China could lead to increased demand for gold. “Secondly, the safe-haven demand narrative has resurfaced as China has started a probe into the US AI juggernaut Nvidia (NVDA) over an alleged violation of anti-monopoly law, suggesting more tit-for-tat measures may arise between the US and China,” Wong said.

Meanwhile, geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, particularly the collapse of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime, have sparked further safe-haven buying of gold and silver.

Yahoo Finance UK's Pedro Goncalves writes:

Oil prices retreated on Tuesday after Monday’s gains, weighed down by a weak demand outlook following disappointing Chinese international trade data for November.

Brent crude futures fell by 0.1%, trading at $72.05 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hovered just below the flatline at $68.32 per barrel at the time of writing.

China’s exports increased by 6.7% and imports declined by 3.9% in November, both of which were below economists' expectations. In addition, China reported a weaker-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) on Monday, in yet another sign of continued sluggish domestic demand.

Despite market optimism surrounding potential policy stimulus from Beijing, oil price gains may remain limited until there is more clarity on how China’s measures will affect the country’s crude demand outlook, said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

The market is also eyeing the possibility of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, which could stimulate oil demand in the world’s largest economy.

“Oil markets have been a function of demand more than supply-side narratives this year,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

“As a result, investors are hesitant to take speculative positions in oil ahead of key policy decisions from the Fed,” Sachdeva added.

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Here's the full quote from the UK government:

Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, responding to a swathe of factors including conflict in the Middle East, Chinese stimulus and a US selloff in tech stocks.

The Hang Seng (^HSI) pulled 0.4% lower in the session while the SSE Composite (000001.SS) rose 0.6%.

In Japan, the Nikkei (^N225) finished 0.5% in the green.

Chinese president Xi Jinping's politburo said it would implement a "moderately loose" monetary policy next year, adding that more rate cuts are on the horizon.

Here's what stock futures are doing for the major indices:

From our US team:

US stocks pulled back on Monday as Nvidia (NVDA) shares slipped amid a Chinese antitrust probe and investors prepared for this week's consumer inflation report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged down 0.5%, coming off a losing week for the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also stumbled 0.6% in the wake of fresh records for both.

The next test for Wall Street stocks comes in a consumer inflation report, which will set the stage for the Federal Reserve's final interest rate decision of the year. The November Consumer Price Index on Wednesday will stress-test the widespread expectation for a quarter-point rate cut on Dec. 18 after the latest monthly jobs report failed to shake that conviction.

Meanwhile, Nvidia stock slid more than 2.5% after Chinese regulators opened a probe into the chipmaker for potential breaches of anti-monopoly laws. The company's lead in AI chips has put it in the middle of the US-China wrangles over tech.

Hello from London. Lucy Harley-McKeown here ready to bring you the biggest markets stories of the day.

In London, Marlboro maker British American Tobacco (BATS.L) is set to report results. Later on in the US, earnings from Adobe (ADBE) are on the slate.

Let's get to it.