In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.3%, with utilities stocks making a nearly 1.3% gain while banks were one of a handful of sectors to fall into the red, slipping 0.5%. Atos’ payments division Worldline jumped over 6%, while French peer Ingenico climbed nearly 4%, after reports that Italy’s SIA Group was eyeing possible merger deals with the pair. Hargreaves Lansdown fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 with an almost 7% decline amid concerns over its hefty stake in the Woodford Equity Income fund.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell to a six-month low against the Japanese yen on Wednesday after weak private jobs data increased expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts in 2019. U.S. private employers added 27,000 jobs in May, well below forecasts and the smallest monthly gain in more than nine years, a report by a payrolls processor showed. The report knocked the dollar to its weakest against the safe-haven yen since Jan. 10, last down 0.18% at 107.95 yen. he dollar index fell to an eight-week low, its fourth straight daily decline, last at 97.00.

In Commodities Markets oil prices resumed their slide on Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropping more than 4% after U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose. Brent futures were down $1.77, or 2.9% at $60.20 a barrel, having briefly traded in positive territory early in the session. WTI was down $2.17, or 4%, at $51.31 a barrel. U.S. crude, gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week, the EIA  said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose 6.8 million barrels in the week to May 31, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 849,000 barrels.

In US Equity Markets stocks gained on Wednesday after data showed that the private sector added fewest jobs in May since 2010, raising the odds that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates to counter a potential slowdown. The S&P 500 was up 0.48%, at 2,816.77 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.67%, at 7,577.86. The energy sector fell 0.52%, and was the only other S&P sector trading lower. Salesforce.com Inc rose 3.95% after its quarterly revenue and profit beat analysts’ estimates and the company forecast full-year results above expectations.

In Bond Markets the U.S. Treasuries market resumed its rally on Wednesday with two-year yields hitting their lowest since December 2017 in the wake of a report that showed private domestic jobs growth decelerated in May to its weakest level in over nine years. Yields on two-year Treasury notes , which are sensitive to views on Federal Reserve policy, were 6.60 basis points lower at 1.807% after hitting 1.773%, the lowest since December 2017. Ten-year Treasury yields were down 1.90 basis points at 2.102%, hovering near their lowest since September 2017.