In Asian Equity Markets indices rose in Wednesday morning trade following positive developments overnight on the U.S.-China trade front. Mainland Chinese stocks were up as the Shanghai composite rose 1.47% and the Shenzhen component gained 2.37%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also jumped 2.33%. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.97%, with shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics and chipmaker SK Hynix jumping 1.92% and 4.26%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also gained 1.01%, with almost all sectors trading higher.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held near a two-week high early on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s closely-watched policy decision later in the day, supported by a surprisingly dovish European Central Bank and bearish eurozone economic data. The Australian dollar was a shade higher at $0.6884 after mounting a rebound the previous day, when it pulled away from a 5-1/2-month low of $0.6832 set on growing expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may have to cut rates again.

In Commodities Markets oil prices climbed on Wednesday, extending sharp gains from the previous session on rekindled hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal and on continued tensions in the Middle East after tanker attacks there last week. Brent crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.6%, at $62.48 a barrel. They rose 2% on Tuesday. U.S. WTI crude gained 44 cents, or 0.8%, to $54.34 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark surged 3.8% in the last session. U.S. crude stocks also fell by 812,000 barrels last week to 482 million, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday.

In US Equity Markets indices rose on Tuesday and the S&P 500 approached a record high after Washington rekindled trade talks with Beijing, boosting sentiment along with growing investor confidence that the Fed will cut interest rates this year. The S&P 500 gained 1.12% to 2,922.14. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.6% to 7,970.33. Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp rose between 1% and 2.5%, contributing the most to gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The utilities, real estate and consumer staples sectors, all of which are viewed as defensive, were the only decliners.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday, in line with the European market, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted at more stimulus if regional inflation fails to pick up toward its target. U.S. benchmark 10-year yields fell to their lowest since early September 2017, while 30-year yields hit their weakest since late October 2016. German bond yields hit record lows deep in negative territory, and French 10-year yields turned negative for the first time since at least 1985 after Draghi’s comments.