In European Equity Markets stocks closed virtually unchanged on Wednesday, as investors took a cautious stance amid fears of a potential U.S. recession. Commerzbank rose toward the top of the index, after the German lender’s annual earnings report showed net profit increased to 865 million euros from 128 million a year earlier. The report also revealed that the bank’s CEO took a 32 percent pay cut last year, in direct contrast with potential partner Deutsche Bank, which increased its top executives’ pay in 2018. Shares of Commerzbank were around 5.2 percent higher on Wednesday.

In Currency Markets New Zealand’s dollar fell on Wednesday, on pace for its worst fall in seven weeks against its U.S. counterpart, after its central bank flagged a possible cut in interest rates, becoming the latest to turn dovish in the face of slowing global growth. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) unexpectedly said its next move in interest rates was more likely to be a cut, abandoning its neutral stance at a policy review on Wednesday. The kiwi was 1.69 percent lower at $0.6788 and the Australian dollar followed suit, falling 0.83 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell about 1 percent on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly rose last week as exports slowed due to a chemical spill along at the nation’s busiest energy port. Brent crude futures fell 51 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $67.46 a barrel. U.S. crude futures dropped 83 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $59.11 a barrel. U.S. crude inventories rose last week by 2.8 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 1.2 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

In US Equity Markets main indexes were lower on Wednesday, as a prolonged inversion in the U.S. treasury yield curve fanned worries of an economic slowdown. The S&P 500 was down 0.73 percent, at 2,798.02 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.94 percent, at 7,619.12. Lennar Corp rose 4.4 percent as the No.2 U.S. homebuilder said it expected housing market to improve, driving a 1.3 percent gain in the housing index. The Philadelphia chip index fell 1.9 percent after German chip-maker Infineon cut its 2019 revenue forecast, pointing to a weakening Chinese car market.

In Bond Markets benchmark 10-year Treasury yields slid on Wednesday but came off 15-month lows reached overnight as investors remained focused on central bank dovishness globally. Ten-year Treasuries were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.389 percent, after falling to 2.352 percent overnight, the lowest since December 2017. The Treasury Department will sell $41 billion in five-year notes on Wednesday, the second sale of $113 billion in coupon-bearing supply this week. A $40 billion auction of two-year notes on Tuesday met with string demand.