In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed slightly below the flatline, paring some earlier losses. Travel and leisure stocks were the worst performers, down more than 2%. Groupe PSA beat full-year revenue estimates and reported a 13.2% rise in annual net profit. The Peugeot maker also raised its dividend despite warning that it expects a 3% decline in the European auto market this year. PSA shares jumped 5%. ISS fell 15% to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 after after issuing more conservative 2020 guidance.

In Currency Markets sterling’s losses deepened on Wednesday as investors cut positions on concerns that Britain’s new finance minister Rishi Sunak’s budget announcement in March may disappoint those waiting for a pick-up in fiscal spending. Traders sold the pound around the $1.30 level after Tuesday’s gains as risky assets broadly came under pressure in response to a deadly virus spreading outside China, with the British currency leading losers.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged up on Wednesday after U.S. crude in storage grew less than expected and gasoline inventories dropped, but hundreds of new coronavirus cases reported in Asia, Europe and oil-producing countries in the Middle East limited gains. Brent crude was rose 12 cents to $55.07 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude was up 33 cents at $50.23 a barrel. U.S. crude oil stocks grew by 452,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 21 to 443.3 million barrels compared with analysts’ expectations for a 2 million-barrel rise.

In US Equity Markets main indexes rose about 1% on Wednesday after suffering their worst four-day percentage fall in more than a year on fears of the economic damage from the global spread of the coronavirus. The S&P 500 was up 1.25%, at 3,167.22. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.54%, at 9,103.94. All major S&P sectors were trading higher, with technology leading the charge on a 1.6% gain. Beyond Meat Inc rose 6.1% as Starbucks Corp said its Canadian stores would start selling the company’s plant-based breakfast sandwich next week.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were higher on Wednesday as traders adjusted portfolios against risks that the spreading coronavirus epidemic would have a major economic impact. The benchmark 10-year yield was up 3.7 basis points in morning trading at 1.3671%, a day after it reached a new record low of 1.3072%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up less than a basis point at 1.1965%.