In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 1.1 percent, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Italy’s FTSE MIB was among the top fallers among national indexes, down more than 1.3 percent as a sell-off in the country’s government bonds resumed on Wednesday. Europe’s basic resource stocks led the losses, down 2.47 percent amid elevated tensions in trade talks. Britain’s Marks & Spencer posted a second straight decline in annual profit and said it urgently had to modernize in order to not to risk fading away. Nonetheless, its shares rose over 5 percent as results were largely in line with expectations.

In Currency Markets the US dollar rose to a six-month high against the euro on Wednesday as data indicating a slowdown in European business activity hurt the common currency, while broader risk aversion hurt the dollar against the Japanese yen. The euro slipped 0.62 percent against the greenback to $1.1705, its weakest since mid November. The dollar slipped 0.85 percent against the Japanese yen, on pace for its worst day since late March, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered optimism over progress made in trade talks with China. Traders were also concerned about Turkey, with the country seemingly headed for a full-blown economic crisis as the Turkish lira fell to record lows.

In Commodities Markets oil benchmarks fell on Wednesday after an unexpected build in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories despite strong demand, and as traders weighed the possibility of an increase in OPEC crude output to cover any shortfalls in supply from Iran and Venezuela. U.S. crude inventories rose 5.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline stocks increased by 1.9 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. Both builds were unexpected, as a Reuters poll called for a drawdown in both figures as summer demand starts to heat up. Brent crude futures were trading $1.08, or 1.4 percent, lower at $78.45 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 85 cents to $71.35 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets stocks were slightly lower on Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s latest comments fueled skepticism over U.S.-China trade talks and ahead of a Federal Reserve report that could indicate the pace of future rate hikes. the S&P 500 was down 0.28 percent, at 2,716.83 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16 percent, at 7,366.35. Leading the decliners was the financial sector, down 1.2 percent. Retailers had a mixed day. Target fell 5.2 percent after the retailer’s quarterly profit rose less than expected as increasing investments dented margins. Lowe’s jumped 10.2 percent after the home improvement retailer maintained its annual financial targets, despite a disappointing first quarter.

In Bond Markets German 10-year bond yields hit five-week lows on Wednesday, after news of a slowdown in euro zone business activity cast doubt on the timing of a planned exit by the ECB from its hefty stimulus program. Italy’s 10-year bond yield, pushed up by growing political risks, hit a 14-month high, widening the gap over German Bund yields by 18 basis points at one stage. Ten-year bond yields in the single currency bloc, with the exception of southern Europe, fell 3 to 5 basis points. Italy 10-year bond yield jumped more than 10 bps to 2.46 percent at one point before settling at 2.40 percent, while 2-year Italian yields hit their highest since July 2015 at 0.306 percent, before closing at 0.27 percent.