In Asian Equity Markets stocks were narrowly mixed in Wednesday trade following the mixed close on Wall Street as several markets in the region re-opened for trade after a holiday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged down by 0.27 percent, with the broader Topix also recording slight weakness and trading lower by 0.28 percent as its mining and oil sub-indexes led losses. Automakers were also broadly traded lower. Elsewhere, the Kospi slipped 0.32 percent as manufacturing stocks and automakers declined. Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 bucked the downward trend in the region to gain 0.47 percent as the industrials and information technology sectors gained.

In Currency Markets the US dollar held near a four-month high against a basket of major currencies on Wednesday, buoyed by the outlook for a strong U.S. economy and rising yields amid signs of a slowdown elsewhere, especially in Europe. The dollar’s index ticked down 0.1 percent in Asia after having gained 1 percent in the preceding two days. It rose to as high as 92.57 on Tuesday, its firmest since Jan. 10. Elsewhere the Australian dollar fell to an 11-month low of $0.74725 in overnight trade and last stood at $0.7504. The dollar rose to as high as 109.89 yen, a three-month high on Tuesday before easing slightly in Asia on Wednesday to 109.71.

In Commodities Markets oil prices firmed slightly on Wednesday, supported by concerns that the United States may reimpose sanctions on major exporter Iran, although soaring U.S. supplies capped gains. Brent crude oil futures were at $73.23 per barrel, up 10 cents, or 0.1 percent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $67.55 per barrel. U.S. crude inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 432.575 million in the week to March 27, according to a report by the API on Tuesday. More U.S. oil will likely flow. U.S. drillers added five oil rigs looking for new production in the week to April 27, bringing the total count to a March 2015 high of 825.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 eked out a gain on Tuesday after comments from a Trump administration official on trade with China and the Mexican economy minister on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement provided cause for optimism. Shares of Pfizer Inc fell 4.4 percent, the greatest percentage decline on the Dow, after posting its biggest miss on quarterly revenue in a year as demand for its key drugs fell short of estimates. The S&P 500 gained 0.25 percent, to 2,654.79 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.91 percent, to 7,130.70. Apple stock jumped more than 3 percent in the extended session on better than expected earnings.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices edged down on Wednesday as market players lightened their positions after the recent rally and ahead of an event-packed long weekend in Japan. Japanese markets will be closed from Thursday to Sunday for the Golden Week holidays, during which the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision and the U.S. payroll data is due. A re-offering of 400 billion yen ($3.65 billion) JGBs with one to five years left to maturity on Wednesday attracted less bids than the previous auction, with bid-to-cover falling to 3.65 from 4.91 last time. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.040 percent.