In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking an overnight recovery in Wall Street as markets awaited more cues on U.S. monetary policy, although rising COVID-19 cases in China kept gains limited as traders feared more disruptions. Gains in Chinese stocks were somewhat muted, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite indexes rising 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. South Korea’s KOSPI index up 0.5 percent, while the Taiwan Weighted index also added a similar amount. India’s Nifty 50 index rose 0.2 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held firm on Wednesday, with investors on tenterhooks before the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting which could offer clues on the outlook for inflation and the pace of interest rate hikes. The kiwi rose after New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates by 75 basis points to a near 14-year high of 4.25 percent. The New Zealand currency was last up 0.47 percent at $0.6173. The euro rose 0.11 percent to $1.0313, while sterling was last trading at $1.1874, down 0.08 percent on the day. The Australian dollar fell 0.15 percent to $0.664.

In US Equity Markets stocks rallied on Tuesday, as a sales forecast by Best Buy dampened concerns high inflation would lead to a dismal holiday shopping season while a bounce in oil prices helped lift energy shares. The Dow rose 1.18 percent, to 34,098.1, the S&P 500 gained 1.36 percent, to 4,003.58 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.36 percent, to 11,174.41. Best Buy Co Inc shot up 12.78 percent after the retailer forecast a smaller decrease in annual sales than previously announced and expressed confidence a ramp up in deals and discounts will entice more customers.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose about 1 percent on Tuesday after top exporter Saudi Arabia said OPEC+ was sticking with output cuts and could take further steps to balance the market. Brent crude rose 1 percent, to settle at$88.36. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 1.1 percent, at $80.95. Spot gold were unchanged at $1,737.19 per ounce. In other metals, spot silver rose 0.9 percent to $21.04 per ounce, platinum gained 0.5 percent to $987.32 while palladium fell 0.3 percent to $1,859.06.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday, lifted by rallying oil stocks after a rout in the previous session, as investors looked toward the next batch of data for clues on the health of the continent amid mixed signals from policymakers on the path of interest rates. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.7 percent higher after hitting its strongest levels in three months earlier in the day. Thyssenkrupp shed 4.3 percent after activist fund Cevian cut its stake in the German submarine-to-steel group to less than 1 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields eased on Tuesday amid thin trading and lingering concerns over more COVID-19 infections in China, with investors waiting for clues on the outlook for inflation and monetary policy from the Federal Reserve’s minutes due on Wednesday. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields went down nearly 7 basis points to 3.759 percent while the yield on the two-year note eased by a smaller extent to 4.518 percent.