In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 0.15 percent by the close, in what was a choppy trading session. The region’s sectors, however, pointed in different directions by the close. U.K.’s FTSE 100 was flat, and France’s CAC 40 declined 0.18 percent. Germany’s DAX rose 0.14 percent. Basic resources maintained its gains, finishing the day up almost 1 percent, on the back of strong industrial production data in China. Adidas hit to the top of the index, finishing up over 11 percent. The company reported lower sales and profit growth expectations for this year but announced a large share buyback on Wednesday.

In Currency Markets sterling hit a three-week high on Wednesday, buoyed by the dollar’s spreading weakness, as the sudden dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reverberated through markets. Sterling was trading broadly flat on the day at $1.3950. It hit a high of $1.3996 in early trades, its highest since Feb. 27. It hit $1.4346 on Jan. 25, its highest level against the U.S. dollar since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016. Against the euro, a better proxy for Brexit related sentiment, the British currency was broadly flat on the day at at 88.65 pence. The single currency was down 0.2 percent on the day, at $1.2364.

In Commodities Markets oil was slightly higher on Wednesday after strong Chinese factory activity, though concern over the pace of growth in U.S. output, as well as other producing nations, limited gains. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its monthly report it expects supply from non-members to grow more quickly than it had previously expected. Brent crude oil futures were last up 2 cents at $64.66 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 11 cents at $60.82 a barrel. Weekly U.S. crude production figures will be published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) later on Wednesday.

In US Equity Markets the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 250 points on Wednesday as U.S. manufacturers continued to suffer from concerns over the impact of new tariffs on trade. Boeing’s 4 percent fall contributed to about 100 points decline in the blue-chip index, with traders citing continuing fallout from Tuesday’s reports that U.S. President Donald Trump could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of Chinese imports. The S&P 500 fell 0.46 percent to 2,752.71 and the Nasdaq Composite decline 0.32 percent to 7,487.06. Shares of department store operators Kohl’s fell 2.9 percent, while Macy’s and Nordstrom decline more than 1 percent after the third straight monthly fall in retail sales.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday in step with government bonds in Britain and Germany as the Russian Foreign Ministry said it would retaliate after 23 of the country’s diplomats were expelled by Prime Minister Theresa May. The yield on Britain’s benchmark government bond was down 5.8 basis points at 1.43 percent. Its German equivalent was down 3.3 basis points to 0.586 percent. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury was down 4.4 basis points at 2.804 percent, the 30-year yield down 5.1 basis points at 3.050 percent. Three-year yields were down 2.5 basis points at 2.399 pct, two-year yields down 1.2 basis points at 2.250 percent.