On the other side of the pond, UK MPs are expected to vote tonight on a Brexit withdrawal ahead of the original October 31 deadline.

In Canada, prime minister Justin Trudeau is being tipped to win a second term with a minority government following Monday's federal election.

Metals and mining equities were the worst performers on the S&P/TSX Composite Index yesterday, closing down 2.3%.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) was a rare bright spot, gaining 1.5%, bringing its year-to-date gain to 41.8%.

It had last week reminded investors the palladium price's all-time high of US$1,781 an ounce was propelling the "metals-price basket" for its Platreef project in South Africa to a new, multi-year high.

In Australian trade, BHP (ASX: BHP) was up 0.6% at the time of writing and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) was up almost 1%.

Iron ore futures had jumped as much as 1.7% in Singapore after Monday's close, Bloomberg reported, following Vale's scaled back sales guidance as it closed another dam in Brazil, raising the prospect lower seaborne supply might offset signs of weakening demand for a while.