In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.68 percent by the close, having reversed losses seen during the morning session. Major European bourses also bounced back, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 rising 0.98 percent, the French CAC 40 popping 0.89 percent and the German DAX finishing up 0.86 percent. Rubis slumped towards the bottom of the index, down over 4.5 percent, after Berenberg cut its price target for the stock to 62 euros from 67 euros. Meantime, 1&1 Drillisch fell over 8 percent after Commerzbank cut its rating on the stock to “hold” from “buy.”

In Currency Markets the pound fell against the euro and the dollar on Wednesday as imminent Brexit talks and doubts the Bank of England will raise interest rates this year darkened the outlook for the currency. The pound fell 0.4 percent to a four-day low of $1.3166 as the dollar strengthened. Against the euro, it fell 0.2 percent to trade at 88.28 pence, an 11-day low. Markets still see more than a 50 percent likelihood the BoE will raise rates by 25 basis points in August and around a 90 percent chance of an increase by the end of 2018.

 
In Commodities Markets oil prices jumped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday as falling U.S. crude stockpiles compounded supply concerns due to uncertainty over Libyan exports, a production disruption in Canada, and U.S. demands that importers stop buying Iranian crude from November. U.S. crude stocks fell by nearly 10 million barrels last week, the most since Sept. 2016. U.S. crude futures rose $1.74 to $72.27 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $72.61 a barrel. Brent crude rose $1.51 to $77.82 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday after the Trump administration said it would use a strengthened security review process to deal with threats from Chinese investments in domestic technologies, instead of imposing China-specific restrictions. The S&P 500 was up 0.38 percent, at 2,733.39 and the Nasdaq Composite rose0.40 percent, at 7,591.75. Conagra fell 6.8 percent after the company said it would buy Pinnacle Foods for about $8.1 billion in cash and stock. Pinnacle Foods fell 4 percent after the widely anticipated deal announcement.

In Bond Markets Germany’s government bond yields fell towards recent one-month lows on Wednesday as a row over migration policy in Germany’s coalition government rumbled on, raising concerns that the euro zone’s biggest economy could be headed for snap elections. Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield briefly dipped 2.5 basis points to 0.305 percent, within striking distance of one-month lows hit this week. The Italian/German 10-year bond yield gap was at 253 basis points and close to its widest in almost three weeks.