In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday, encouraged by a rally on Wall Street, but gains were kept in check by worries that aggressive central bank policy tightening will stifle global growth and raise the risks of stagflation. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.15 percent, recouping most of its losses in the previous session, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was up 1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.72 percent, recovering half of its slide on Tuesday after the central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates by the most in 22 years and flagged more tightening to come.

In Currency Markets the dollar was up on Wednesday morning in Asia as central banks globally are expected to brace for tightening policies to tame inflation. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies gained 0.28 percent to 102.60. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar jumped 0.40 percent to 133.12. The yen continued its loss after sliding to a 20-year low as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has given no indication of giving up ultra-easy monetary policies. The Aussie dollar fell 0.33 percent to $0.7204, and the kiwi slid 0.39 percent to $0.6464.

In US Equity Markets stocks rallied late on Tuesday to end higher for a second straight day as technology and energy shares gained, while Target Corp’s warning about excess inventory weighed on retail stocks for much of the session. The Dow rose 0.8 percent, to 33,180.14, the S&P 500 gained 0.95 percent, to 4,160.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.94 percent, to 12,175.23. Shares of Walmart fell 1.2 percent, and the S&P retail index was down 1 percent. The S&P 500 technology index rose 1 percent and gave the benchmark index its biggest boost. Microsoft Corp shares added 1.4 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices gained about 1 percent on Tuesday, with U.S. crude settling at a 13-week high on supply concerns, including no nuclear deal with Iran, and prospects for demand growth in China, which is relaxing lockdowns to control the pandemic. Brent futures gained 0.9 percent, to settle at $120.57 a barrel, its highest since May 31. U.S. WTI crude gained 0.8 percent, to $119.41. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,844.40 per ounce. Elsewhere, platinum fell 1.3 percent to $1,003.97 per ounce and palladium fell 2.1 percent to $1,961.12. Silver fell 0.7 percent to $21.91.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Tuesday as investors worried about the squeeze to economic growth from aggressive monetary policy tightening by central banks in a bid to tame rising inflation, while retail stocks declined after U.S. retailer Target’s gloomy warning. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3 percent, with the retail stocks index down 0.9 percent after Target slashed its quarterly margin forecast for the second time in less than a month. Rate-sensitive technology stocks fell 1.1 percent, with French software maker Dassault Systemes shedding 2.3 percent after a brokerage downgraded the stock.

In Bond Markets long-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday after Target Corp. warned about excess inventory and said it would cut prices, boosting bets that the worst of inflation may be in the past. Benchmark 10-year note yields fell seven basis points to 2.970 percent after reaching 3.064 percent overnight, the highest since May 11. Two-year note yields were little changed on the day at 2.733 percent. Breakeven rates on five-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) fell to 3.05 percent on Tuesday, from 3.08 percent on Monday.