In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2% during afternoon trade, dragged down by bank shares. Commerzbank was the worst performer in the sector, down 6%, while Deutsche Bank slipped over 4%. Danish medical technology supplier Ambu jumped 25% after chairman Jens Bager resigned and the company proposed Lars Rasmussen as its new chairman. At the other end of the European blue chip index, Tullow Oil fell 27% after cutting its 2019 oil production guidance. Satellite operator SES saw its shares down 15% amid uncertainty around a pending auction of its C-band spectrum, which caused J.P. Morgan to downgrade the stock.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar was stable on Wednesday after consumer prices in October rose more than expected and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered an optimistic outlook for the economy, further solidifying the case for the central bank to pause its monetary easing cycle. Expectations for an interest rate cut do not rise above 30% before July 2020, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. And the slim chances of a cut in the months prior became slimmer on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, the Swiss franc rallied to a one-month high against the euro as hedge funds unwound some of their negative bets against the currency and as appetite for risky assets faltered.

In Commodities Markets oil prices reversed early losses on Wednesday after OPEC said it saw no signs of global recession and rival U.S. shale oil production could grow by much less than expected in 2020. Also supporting prices were comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said the U.S. economy would see a “sustained expansion” with the full impact of recent interest rate cuts still to be felt. Brent crude futures stood roughly flat at around $62 per barrel, having fallen by over 1% earlier in the day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $56 per barrel, up 20 cents or 0.4%.

In US Equity Markets main indexes turned slightly higher on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank saw a “sustained expansion” ahead for the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 was up 0.10%, at 3,094.88 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.04%, at 8,489.86. However, the financial sector fell 0.40%, tracking a decline in 10-year U.S. Treasury yields. Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd fell 2.6% as the Chinese e-commerce giant revealed plans to launch a Hong Kong share sale to raise up to $13.4 billion. SmileDirectClub Inc declined 19% as the teeth alignment company posted a bigger quarterly loss and pointed toward more losses for the year.

In Bond Markets Euro zone bond yields fell on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened China with further tariffs if it fails to sign a trade deal, dimming the optimism that has hurt bond markets in recent weeks. Most 10-year bond yields fell 4 to 6 basis points on the day. Benchmark 10-year German government bond yields saw their largest daily decline since June, down 6 basis points at -0.3%, compared with last week’s five-month high of -0.22%. The Belgian 10-year bond also returned to negative, having traded in positive territory for a week. It was last yielding -0.005%..