In Asian Equity Markets indexes reversed early losses to edge higher on Wednesday, shrugging off the declines seen on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 reversed early losses to climb 0.29 percent as losses in automakers were offset by gains seen in manufacturing and technology names. Among index heavyweights, Fanuc Manufacturing rose 0.96, Toyota slipped 0.77 percent and Fast Retailing gained 1.86 percent. The technology sector was mixed, with Sony adding 1.37 percent and SoftBank lower by 0.18 percent. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi bucked the downward trend to advance 0.98 percent as some heavily weighted tech names drove the index higher. Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped 5.42 percent after it announced a 50:1 stock split. The reason for the decision was “based on the view that a high share price was a hindrance to potential investors,” the company said in a statement.

In Currency Markets the US dollar inched lower against a basket of major rivals on Wednesday, showing scant reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Trump called on the U.S. Congress to pass legislation to ensure at least $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure spending. He also urged lawmakers to work toward bipartisan compromises, but pushed a hard line on immigration. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last down 0.1 percent on the day at 89.062, staying above a three-year low around 88.43 set last week. The euro edged up 0.2 percent to $1.2423. The yen slipped briefly after the Bank of Japan increased its buying of medium-term Japanese government bonds (JGBs) in a move seen as a warning shot against further rises in bond yields. The dollar reached its intra-day high of 109.095 yen shortly after the BOJ announcement. The dollar later pared its gains and was last trading at 108.79 yen, steady on the day.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell for a third day on Wednesday after data from an industry body showed crude stocks rose more than expected last week, while a selloff in other commodities, stocks and bonds added to investors’ bearish mood. Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 0.69 cents, or about 1 percent, at $68.33 a barrel, a nearly two-week low. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down, 67 cents, or 1 percent, at $63.83, after falling to its weakest level in more than a week. On Tuesday, U.S. crude fell 1.6 percent to close at $64.50 a barrel, the contract’s decline far outpacing a 0.6 percent drop in the price of Brent. Prices on both WTI and Brent are still on track for a fifth month of gains. But the report from the American Petroleum Institute late on Tuesday showing crude stocks rose by 3.2 million barrels last week cast a further bearish pall over the market.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell for a second straight day on Tuesday, with the Dow registering its biggest two-day decline since September 2016, pressured by healthcare stocks and rising bond yields. Healthcare stocks pulled the major indexes lower on news that Amazon.com Inc, Berkshire Hathaway Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co will jointly form a healthcare company to help control costs for their U.S. employees. The S&P 500 Healthcare index was the day’s biggest loser among the 11 major sectors, dropping by 2.13 percent. The S&P 500 lost 1.09 percent, to 2,822.43 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.86 percent, to 7,402.48. MetLife Inc fell 8.6 percent and was the day’s biggest daily percentage decliner in the S&P 500 after news the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the insurer’s failure to pay some workers’ pensions. Harley-Davidson Inc closed down 8.0 percent after announcing it would close a Kansas City plant in the face of declining shipments.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury long-dated yields rose on Tuesday ahead of a slew of events this week such as a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision which could help shed more light on the outlook for interest rates this year. Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields, which move inversely to prices, touched their highest in nearly four years, while 30-year yields climbed to their highest since May 2017. U.S. 10-year yields edged up to 2.727 percent, from Monday’s 2.699 percent. U.S. 30-year bond yields also rose to 2.973 percent ,up from 2.943 percent. Japanese government bond prices edged up on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan increased its buying in maturities, a move seen as a warning shot against further rise in JGB yields. The BOJ increased the amount it bought in Japanese government bonds of three- to five years left to maturity, in the medium tenor to 330 billion yen ($3.03 billion) from 300 billion yen in its previous operations.

Today’s inflection points

• 11:00 GMT+1 EUR Unemployment
• 11:00 GMT+1 EUR HICP inflation, preliminary
• 14:15 GMT+1 USD ADP employment
• 14:30 GMT+1 CAD GDP
• 15:45 GMT+1 USD Chicago PMI
• 16:00 GMT+1 USD Pending home sales
• 16:30 GMT+1 USD DOE U.S. crude oil inventories
• 20:00 GMT+1 USD FOMC meeting