By Tom Westbrook and Alun John

Representations of cryptocurrency bitcoin are seen in this illustration. REUTERS

(Reuters) - Stocks made muted gains on Tuesday and both cryptocurrencies and global government bonds stabilised after the previous day's sell-off triggered by a looming interest rate hike in Japan.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% after falls on Wall Street overnight, while broad stock indexes in Europe (.STOXX) and Asia-ex Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) gained 0.3% and 0.4%.

A bit more calm in the Japanese government bond market after a strong auction of JGBs was helping the global mood, and Japanese 10-year and 30-year yields were each about two basis points lower. .

Bond yields move inversely to prices, and a weeks-long tumble in JGBs on concerns about the nation's finances and expected rate hikes from the Bank of Japan has sent 10-year yields to a 17-year peak and 30-year yields to an all-time high.

That sell-off weighed on bonds elsewhere in the world on Monday - the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose nearly 8 bps and the 10-year German Bund yield rose nearly 6 bps - and also sent stock markets lower.

On Tuesday, global bonds again took their cue from JGBs, but this time echoed their calm - the 10-year Treasury yield was at 4.11% and the 10-year Bund yield was at 2.77%, both up marginally on the day. 

BITCOIN DOWN 30% FROM OCTOBER PEAK

Bitcoin , which some see as a possible leading indicator for risk assets, inched higher on Tuesday after an unsettling 5.2% slump on Monday and at $87,000 is down 30% from an October peak.

"Things are pretty stable currently, we're closing this year, with few - touching wood - negative surprises," said Samy Chaar, chief economist at Lombard Odier.

"Yesterday was mainly a non-event except for crypto assets. We've had a huge rout in bitcoin (over the past few weeks), and frankly the impact on global markets has been limited."

Views from the crypto sector were less sanguine.

"The mood (in cryptocurrencies) is ranging between fearful and resigned," said Jehan Chu, founder at blockchain venture capital firm Kenetic Capital, with the latest drop catching investors by surprise.

JAPAN TO HIKE, FED TO CUT

In currency markets the Japanese yen softened on Tuesday, with the dollar up 0.3% at 155.9 yen, and the euro up a similar amount. ,

However, as that came after a decent bid for the yen on Monday, traders are less concerned than they were last week that Japanese authorities would step in to prop up the currency.

The dollar was also steady more broadly on Tuesday, after its softness on Monday helped hoist the euro briefly above $1.165. The common currency last traded at $1.1613.

Some investors, however, are starting to expect a more durable turn lower for the greenback as the U.S. prepares to cut interest rates further and faster than many peers.

Data on Monday supported expectations for a December rate cut by the Federal Reserve, with manufacturing contracting for a ninth straight month in November - though consumers did beat analyst expectations with a $23.6 billion online shopping spree to kick off the holiday season.

Gold retreated 0.6%, hovering around $4,200 an ounce, but is still only around 4% from October's all-time peak. Silver shed 1%.

Oil prices had also climbed following drone attacks on Russian energy sites and Brent crude futures were down a touch at $62.95 a barrel on Tuesday. U.S. crude futures were at $59.2 a barrel.