In Asian Equity Markets Japanese shares fell on Wednesday to their lowest in more than two weeks, as investors focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to decrease more hints on its future policy path, and a potential debt default by property giant China Evergrande. The Nikkei index was down 0.63 percent to 29,650.78, while the broader Topix fell 0.67 percent to 2,050.67. The CSI300 index fell 1.1 percent to 4,801.94 by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.3 percent to 3,603.41.

In Currency Markets the dollar held below a near one-month high on Wednesday as investors focused on two key risks — a default by Chinese property developer Evergrande and the expected pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening. The dollar index stood at 93.226 in early Asian trade, staying not far off Monday’s one-month high of 93.455. The euro changed hands at $1.1725, while the dollar traded at 109.165 yen, near the low end of its trading range since mid-August. The Aussie was a shade firmer at $0.7241, while the kiwi dollar also edged up to $0.7019.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended near flat on Tuesday after a broad sell-off the day before, with worries over troubles at developer China Evergrande and caution ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy news keeping a lid on the market. The Dow fell 0.15 percent, to 33,919.84, the S&P 500 lost 0.08 percent, to 4,354.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.22 percent, to 14,746.40. Shares of Walt Disney Co fell 4.2 percent after Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek said the resurgence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus was delaying production of some of its titles.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged higher on Tuesday in a see-saw session, as concerns about the global consumption outlook counterbalanced the struggle by big OPEC producers to pump enough supply to meet growing demand. U.S. crude settled up 0.4 percent at $70.56 per barrel and Brent settled at $74.36, up 0.6 percent on the day. Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,772.96 per ounce. Silver rose 1.4 percent to $22.56 per ounce, platinum climbed 2.5 percent to $933.8, and palladium gained 2 percent to $1,924.03.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday after their biggest fall in two months on easing worries about the spillover from the crisis at China’s Evergrande, while music label Universal Music Group rose 35 percent in its stock market debut. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 1.0 percent after sinking to a two-month low in the previous session. Travel & leisure, media, mining and energy stocks led gains, while Germany’s DAX rebounded from its lowest level since late July. Universal Music Group rose 35.7 percent in its first day of trading, giving it a market capitalisation of more than 46 billion euros ($54 billion).

In Bond Markets longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Tuesday after an auction of 20-year bonds was well received and investors waited for the end of this week’s Fed meeting that may shed light on when its massive purchase of government debt will begin to ease. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 1.4 basis points to 1.323 percent, while yields on 20-year Treasuries narrowed, up 0.7 basis points. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was unchanged at 0.216 percent. The breakeven rate on five-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) was last at 2.467 percent.