In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday, extending their decline from the previous session as currency dynamics took hold of the stock market. Euro zone stocks fell 0.7 percent and the top index of euro zone companies lost  0.8 percent. Germany’s exporter-heavy DAX index fell 1.2 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 insulated from the euro’s gains, edged 0.3 percent lower. Financials, which have risen steadily as the tax reform bill progressed, were the biggest weight on benchmarks. Heavyweights Unicredit, Santander and BNP Paribas were prominent fallers. Steinhoff was the biggest loser on the STOXX on Wednesday, down 35 percent as the scandal-hit South African furniture retailer started losing credit lines from lenders.

In Currency Markets the dollar slid against most currencies except the yen on Wednesday, with the greenback seen as having limited upside potential given that investors have already factored in a comprehensive U.S. tax bill that is all but certain to be signed into law by President Donald Trump. In mid-morning trading, the dollar index fell 0.2 percent to 93.295. That led the euro to rise 0.3 percent versus the dollar to $1.1872. The dollar also fell against sterling, the Canadian and New Zealand dollars. Against the yen, however, the dollar rose to one-week highs and was last 113.16 yen, up 0.2 percent. The Swedish crown, rose on Wednesday against both the euro and the dollar after the country’s central bank called an end to its quantitative easing policy.

In Commodities Markets  U.S. crude stocks fell last week, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories rose, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.  Crude inventories fell by 6.5 million barrels in the week to Dec. 15, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 3.8 million barrels. Overall crude stocks, excluding the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell to 436 million barrels, the lowest since October 2015. Oil prices were relatively stable following the news. U.S. crude futures gained nine cents to $57.64 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 25 cents to $64.05 a barrel. U.S. weekly production rose again, rising to 9.79 million bpd, another weekly record. Spot gold added 0.3 percent to $1,264.86 an ounce.

In US Equity Markets  stocks edged lower on Wednesday as the long-awaited tax bill was all but assured of becoming law, allowing investors to take a breather after a month-long rally in anticipation of the largest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years. The Dow was down 0.03 percent, at 24,746.74 and the S&P 500  was down 0.11 percent, at 2,678.4. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.31 percent, at 6,942.42.  Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 0.68 percent rise in telecoms, considered by some analysts to be the biggest beneficiary of lower taxes. AT&T gained 1.8 percent and Verizon 0.9 percent. FedEx jumped nearly 4 percent to a record after its strong results and forecast, saying the tax overhaul would benefit earnings further.

In Bond Markets  the tax plan has boosted U.S. Treasury yields, which were at nine-month highs on optimism the plan will boost growth. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.4771 percent, from 2.463 percent. The 30-year bond last fell 19/32 in price to yield 2.8529 percent, from 2.823 percent. German 10 and 30-year bond yields hit their highest levels in around a month, while Italy’s 10-year government bond jumped 6 bps to a two-month high of 1.97 percent.