In Asian Equity Markets the Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.41% in afternoon trade while the Topix index was just fractionally higher. South Korea’s Kospi traded down 0.72% as shares of Samsung Electronics fell more than 1% ahead of the industry heavyweight’s earnings release. Mainland Chinese shares declined by the afternoon, with the Shanghai composite falling 0.44% and the Shenzhen component shedding 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.26%. Meanwhile, Australian shares declined as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.78%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar traded narrowly as markets braced for a rate cut by the Federal Reserve later on Wednesday, while sterling steadied as Britain heads for an early general election the prime minister hopes will break the deadlock over Brexit. The dollar was steady against the euro at $1.1111 and flat versus a basket of six major currencies at 97.682 as investors awaited the Fed’s interest rate decision. Against the yen, the greenback was also little moved at 108.83 yen.

In Commodities Markets oil prices slipped on Wednesday, with U.S. crude falling for a third day after an industry report that stocks at the Cushing delivery hub for the benchmark rose last week, shrugging off a drop in overall inventories. Brent crude was down 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $61.44 a barrel after gaining 2 cents on Tuesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 18 cents, or 0.3%, at $55.36 a barrel, having dropped 0.5% in the previous session. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for WTI rose by 1.2 million barrels, the API, an industry group, said.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 hovered near its record high on Tuesday, lifted by upbeat earnings from drugmakers Merck and Pfizer, while a disappointing quarterly profit from Google-parent Alphabet kept the Nasdaq firmly in the negative territory. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by the healthcare sector, which rose 0.66%. Merck & Co Inc rose 2.19% after its quarterly earnings blew past analysts’ expectations, while Pfizer Inc gained 3% as it raised its 2019 earnings forecast.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were lower, though moves were generally muted, on Tuesday, the first of the two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting after which it is expected to announce its third interest-rate cut this year. Traders are currently pricing in a 97.3% chance of a cut tomorrow, up from 49.2% a month ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. The benchmark 10-year yield was 1.5 basis points lower at 1.839%. The two-year yield was 0.7 basis point lower at 1.644%.