NEW YORK, Aug 24 — Crude oil slumped, unwinding yesterday’s advance, after a report of growth in US stockpiles added to concern there is a global glut. Index futures indicated equities in most Asia-Pacific markets would gain after US stocks closed near a record high.

Oil futures dropped as much as 1.3 per cent in New York, after the American Petroleum Institute was said to report late yesterday that US inventories of crude increased by 4.46 million barrels last week.

Contracts on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced after the S&P 500 Index briefly topped its all-time closing high.

Treasury 10-year notes were stuck in the tightest monthly trading range since 2006.

Market sentiment has seesawed in recent weeks as traders look for clues on how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be, while awaiting a speech from Chair Janet Yellen on Friday.

The dissonance of reports showing a surge in American new home sales and a slowdown in manufacturing brought into question the hawkish tone of recent comments from Fed officials, spreading calm across asset classes.

There’s a 28 per cent chance of a rate hike in September, according to futures.

"I wouldn’t expect any strong moves in markets ahead of Yellen,” said Janu Chan, a senior economist at St. George Bank Ltd. in Sydney.

"Data last night was mixed, and that’s the message we’ve been getting over the past few months. Yellen is important not only for the near-term guidance on rates, but also how high rates are likely to go.”

West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell as much as 64 cents to US$47.46 (RM190.78) a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at US$47.57 as of 8:02am in Tokyo.

Futures rose 69 cents to settle at US$48.10 yesterday after Reuters cited unidentified sources in OPEC and the oil industry saying that Iran is sending "positive signals” it may support joint action to bolster the market.

Contracts on Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 per cent in Chicago from the most recent close of the cash equity market in Tokyo.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures gained 0.5 per cent, while those on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.3 per cent.

American equities showed signs of breaking out of a torpor, with Monsanto Co. leading a rally in raw-material shares as it’s said to be closer to a merger with Bayer AG. Chipmakers boosted the technology group, and Best Buy Co. surged 20 per cent after surprising earnings.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent Tuesday.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch GFSI Market Risk Index, a measure of future price swings implied by options trading on global equities, interest rates, currencies and commodities, is close to the lowest level of 2016.

US stock volatility hovered near a two-year low, while a similar gauge for Treasuries has tumbled from its June peak.

Earlier this month, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. index tracking three-month currency swings fell to its lowest since late 2015. — Bloomberg