Twin blasts hit Brussels airport early Tuesday. They were followed by an explosion in a subway station in the city. Local media said at least 13 people were killed, and 35 wounded.
Brussels is the de-facto capital of the European Union. Many European institutions and international companies are based there. The airport is closed, and train and subway services have been suspended.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. International market overview
U.S. stock futures are down. All European markets opened lower following the explosions in Belgium.
France's CAC and Germany's DAX indexes are down by nearly 1%, and the FTSE in the U.K. is slipping. Asian markets closed the session mixed. The euro trading lower against most major world currencies.
2. Brussels terror attack sparks risk aversion
Safe-haven assets such as the yen, gold and German government debt all rose to the day’s highs on Tuesday, while European stocks fell to a session low, as a series of explosions in Brussels sparked a wave of risk aversion.
3. Markets look ahead to more Fed speakers
The market will be paying attention to a pair of FOMC member speeches on Tuesday to further judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is scheduled to speak in the afternoon on economic conditions and monetary policy, while Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is due to speak in the evening on growth and the role of economic policies.
Both San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said in separate news reports on Monday that a rate hike could come as early as next month. Neither are voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee.
4. Monday market recap
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 were each up 0.1% on Monday, and the Nasdaq gained 0.3%.