In Asian Equity Markets stocks declined on Wednesday following the sacking of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and amid talk of potential U.S. tariffs against China. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.84 percent, or 185.30 points. The broader Topix slipped 0.42 percent, with most sectors trading in negative territory. Of note, the Topix iron and steel index firmed by 0.22 percent after edging lower in the last session. Over in Seoul, the benchmark Kospi edged down by 0.41 percent. Automakers carved out gains that were offset by losses in other sectors, including downbeat manufacturing plays. Technology names traded mixed, with Samsung SDI gaining 3.22 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar wallowed against the yen and other major currencies on Wednesday after the sudden dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson killed off an earlier bounce in the currency. The dollar was down 0.15 percent at 106.440 yen , having slipped overnight from a two-week high of 107.300 reached after wariness over a political controversy in Japan waned slightly. The euro extended an overnight bounce and was up 0.15 percent at $1.2407 , its highest in six days. The pound rose about 0.2 percent to a two-week high of $1.3996. The Australian dollar added 0.1 percent to $0.7870 and in reach of a two-week peak of $0.7898 scaled the previous day on robust business indicators.

In Commodities Markets oil prices were stable on Wednesday after posting two days of declines at the start of the week. Support came from a report that U.S. crude inventories are not rising as much as expected during the spring season now starting, implying healthy demand, and from strong China data. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $60.76 a barrel, up 0.1 percent, from their previous close. Brent crude futures were at $64.59 per barrel, down 0.1 percent. U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week to March 9, to 428 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday. That compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 2 million barrels.

In US Equity Markets losses in technology stocks weighed on main indexes on Tuesday as investors booked profits following the recent strong run and uncertainty in Washington after another high-profile exit from the Trump administration. The S&P 500 lost 0.64 percent, to 2,765.29 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.02 percent, to 7,511.01. Stocks slid as shares of Microsoft, Facebook and Alphabet were down more than 1.5 percent each, top losers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Among stocks, General Electric fell about 4 percent after JP Morgan cut its price target on the stock to $11 from $14, saying the industrial conglomerate was not a “safety stock” in a volatile market.

In Bond Markets The U.S. yield curve flattened on Tuesday as longer-dated bonds fell on strong demand for 30-year securities at auction, and on earlier news that February consumer price data cooled, suggesting the anticipated pickup in inflation is likely to be gradual.  The 30-year bond yield close at 3.099 percent, down 3 basis points from Monday’s close. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note close at 2.844 percent, down from 2.870 percent at Monday. Japanese government bond futures rose on Wednesday tracking overnight gains in U.S. Treasuries. June 10-year JGB futures gained 0.03 point to 150.70.