In Asian Equity Markets stocks stayed stuck at seven-month lows on Wednesday, as markets continued to digest a storm in Chinese equity markets, while currency markets were quiet with traders wary of placing large bets prior to the outcome of a Fed meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.31 percent in morning trading. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China stabilised after a sharp sell-off in the previous session, balancing declines elsewhere in Asia. Japan’s Nikkei slid 1.15 percent, with shares in SoftBank Group, a major investor in Chinese tech, falling 3.68 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar was up, but remained below its recent highs, on Wednesday morning in Asia. Ripple effects from a crackdown in China and caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision gave the safe-haven U.S. currency a boost, however. The U.S. Dollar Index inched up 0.06 percent to 92.493. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar inched up 0.03 percent to 109.80. The Aussie  inched down 0.09 percent to $0.7353 while the kiwi pair inched up 0.01 percent to $0.6955. The Sterling inched down 0.04 percent to $1.3868.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Tuesday, ending a five-day winning streak in the three major indexes, as investors were cautious before results from top tech and Wednesday’s Fed announcement. The Dow fell 0.24 percent, to 35,058.52, the S&P 500 lost 0.47 percent, to 4,401.46 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.21 percent, to 14,660.58. Intel Corp shares lost 2.1 percent after it said its factories would start building Qualcomm chips and laid out a road map to expand its new foundry business. Shares of McDonald’s Corp rose 1 percent ahead of its results due before the bell on Wednesday.

In Commodities Markets gold firmed near the key $1,800 level on Tuesday, as the dollar softened and U.S. real yields fell, though gains were limited by investor caution ahead of a Fed meeting that could provide details on stimulus tapering. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,800.46 per ounce. Elsewhere, silver fell 1.8 percent to $24.71 per ounce, platinum shed 1.1 percent to $1,052.96 and palladium fell 1.8 percent to $2,609.14. The somber mood led oil prices to give up earlier gains. U.S. crude settled 0.36 percent lower at $71.65 per barrel and Brent was at $74.48, down 0.03 percent on the day.

In European Equity Markets stocks lost ground on Tuesday after falls in Chinese stocks and Reckitt Benckiser’s warning on margins ahead of earnings updates from big fashion retailers later in the day. The pan-European STOXX index fell 0.5 percent in its second straight session of losses. Most European sector indexes fell, with technology stocks leading declines as Logitech lost 9.9 percent after the Swiss maker of computer equipment maintained its full-year targets, despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly results.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday as risk appetite languished amid lingering concerns about high inflation and the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant that could thwart global economic growth. U.S. 10-year yields were on an uptrend for most of last week. In late afternoon trading, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield slid to 1.239 percent from 1.276 percent late on Monday. U.S. 30-year yields lost to 1.891 percent from Monday’s 1.925 percent. Post-auction, U.S. 5-year note yields were down at 0.695 percent, from Monday’s 0.713 percent.