In Asian Equity Markets indices declined in Wednesday after stocks on Wall Street fellfor a second day. The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.85% in morning trade after declining more than 3% on Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.67% while the Kosdaq declined 1.46%. Mainland Chinese stocks fell in early trade as the Shanghai composite shed about 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 1.25%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.11% as the sectors traded lower.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar was on the defensive on Wednesday as rising expectations of a U.S. rate cut and warning from U.S. health officials on a domestic coronavirus outbreak called into question the perceived relative strength of U.S. financial assets. The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies fell to 98.980, having lost 0.9% since it peaked at a near three-year high of 99.915 last week. Against the yen, the U.S. currency traded at 110.25 yen, about two full yen below its 10-month high touched last Thursday.

In Commodities Markets crude prices edged up on Wednesday as investors covered short positions after three sessions of losses, even as fears deepened that the rapid spread of the coronavirus will lead to a global pandemic. Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.8%, to $55.37 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 43 cents, or 0.9%, to $50.33 a barrel. Still, both benchmarks are down nearly 7% since last Thursday’s close.

In US Equity Markets indexes fell 3% on Tuesday as the coronavirus spread further around the world and investors clamored for safety a day after the S&P 500’s and the Dow’ biggest daily declines in two years. The S&P 500 lost 3.03%, to 3,128.14 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.76%, to 8,966.79. Mastercard Inc shares fell 7%, putting it among the S&P’s biggest percentage decliners. Earlier it announced Chief Executive Ajay Banga would step down at the start of the next year and be replaced by products head Michael Miebach.

In Bond Markets the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note hit a record low yield on Tuesday as investors kept up the previous session’s flight to safety, buying Treasuries on mounting worries the coronavirus epidemic might slam global economic growth. The 10-year yield was down 4.5 basis points in afternoon trading at 1.3321%. It fell as low as 1.3072%, below its previous record of 1.321% reached on July 6, 2016. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down 5.4 basis points at 1.2125%.