In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with technology-heavy indexes losing the most as caution kicked in ahead of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s February meeting. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the Taiwan Weighted index, and South Korea’s KOSPI were the worst performers for the day, losing between 0.8 percent and 1.4 percent.  China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes fell 0.6 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Australia’s ASX 200 index fell 0.5 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar and sterling found support on Wednesday after a surprise rebound in business activity in the United States and the UK raised the likelihood that their respective central banks would have further to go in raising interest rates. The dollar rose broadly while sterling last bought $1.21015. The euro rose 0.05 percent to $1.0652. Over in the antipodes, the kiwi was last 0.1 percent higher at $0.62195. The Aussie fell 0.31 percent to $0.6835. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell marginally to 134.91. The U.S. dollar index stood at 104.15, having gained 0.3 percent on Tuesday.

In US Equity Markets stocks posted its worst performance of the year on Tuesday, with the main benchmarks ending down as investors interpreted a rebound in U.S. business activity in February to mean interest rates will need to stay higher for longer to control inflation. The Dow fell 2.06 percent, to 33,129.59, the S&P 500 lost 2.00 percent, to 3,997.34 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.5 percent, to 11,492.30. Elsewhere, Home Depot Inc lost 7.1 percent to a three-month low after the No. 1 domestic home improvement chain warned of weakening demand and issued a dour profit forecast for 2023.

In Commodities Markets Brent crude oil fell more than 1 percent in a volatile session on Tuesday as persistent concerns about global economic growth outweighed supply curbs and prompted investors to take profits on the previous day’s gains. Global benchmark Brent crude settled 1.2 percent, lower at $83.05 a barrel. U.S. WTI crude for March, which expired on Tuesday, fell 18 0.2 percent, to $76.16 a barrel. Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,832.39 per ounce. In other metals, silver was steady at $21.74 per ounce, platinum gained 0.2 percent to $928.55 while palladium was down 0.2 percent to $1,507.79.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Tuesday after strong economic data fuelled expectations of higher interest rates, while London-listed HSBC rallied on a quarterly profit rise. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index fell 0.2 percent. Shares in HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, rose 4.3 percent after reporting a 92 percent increase in quarterly profit and pledging more regular dividends and share buybacks. The banking index rose 0.8 percent. Engie shares rose 4.8 percent after reporting a sharp increase in profit for 2022, due to higher natural gas and power prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In Bond Markets Treasury yields hit three-month highs on Tuesday as strong economic data led investors to price for higher interest rates, and after the Treasury Department saw slightly soft demand for a two-year note auction. Benchmark 10-year note yields reached 3.962 percent, the highest since Nov. 10. They are up from a four-month low of 3.321 percent on Jan. 19. Two-year yields rose as high as 4.738 percent, the highest since Nov. 8.