In Asian Equity Markets indexes closed higher on Wednesday after a session of choppy trade in Japanese markets. More convincing gains were seen in Taiwan and Hong Kong markets.  Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.21 percent, or 45.71 points, at 21,970.81 after a session of choppy trade. Manufacturing stocks finished the day mostly higher, with Fanuc Manufacturing advancing 0.4 percent by the end of the session. Automakers and technology names were mixed, while bank stocks came under pressure. Among blue chip names, Toyota gained 0.12 percent, Honda rose 1.64 percent and SoftBank Group slipped 0.55 percent on the day. Meanwhile, the Kospi edged up by 0.6 percent to close at 2,429.65.

In Currency Markets the US dollar inched higher on Wednesday as the near-term focus shifted to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting for hints on the future pace of U.S. monetary tightening. The dollar index rose 0.1 percent to 89.805, which was up about 1.8 percent from Friday’s three-year low of 88.251. The greenback rose 0.3 percent to 107.70 yen. Market players said stop-loss dollar buying gave an added lift to the dollar, which rose to 107.90 yen at one point. The euro held steady at $1.2332, having retreated from a three-year high of $1.2556 set on Friday. Later on Wednesday, investors will turn their attention to the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting in late January.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Wednesday, weighed down by a rebound in the U.S. dollar from three-year lows hit last week and an expected rise in U.S. oil production.  U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.07 a barrel, down 72 cents, or 1.2 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures fell 60 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their last close to $64.65 per barrel. Gold prices fell further on Wednesday and hit a one-week low as the dollar steadied after a recovery from last week’s three-year low, while investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting for clues on the pace of interest rate hikes this year. U.S. gold futures  were down 0.2 percent at $1,328.5 per ounce.

In US Equity Markets the Dow and S&P 500 fell on Tuesday to snap a six-session winning streak as a sharp decline in Walmart weighed heavily, but gains in Amazon and chip stocks helped the Nasdaq hold near the unchanged mark. Walmart, the world’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer, reported a lower-than-expected profit and posted a sharp drop in online sales growth during the holiday period. Its shares fell 10.2 percent, and suffered their biggest percentage fall since January 1988. The S&P technology index gained 0.3 as the sole major S&P sector on the plus side, buoyed by a gain of nearly 2 percent in the semiconductor sector. The S&P 500 lost 0.58 percent, to 2,716.26 and the Nasdaq Composite fell marginally 0.07 percent, to 7,234.31.

In Bond Markets some of the U.S. government’s short-term borrowing costs rose to their highest level in more than nine years on Tuesday as the government raised $179 billion in the Treasury securities market to fund spending and make debt payments. Tuesday’s auctions made up more than half of the $258 billion in Treasury debt supply scheduled for sale this week, which is projected to raise nearly $48 billion in new cash for the government. The Treasury will also auction $15 billion in two-year floating-rate notes on Wednesday. Japanese government bond prices gained on Wednesday, in anticipation of strong demand at a 20-year JGB auction the following day. The 10-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis point to 0.055 percent, while the 20-year yield fell 0.5 basis point to 0.560 percent.