In Asian Equity Markets indices were broadly lower on Wednesday on the back of news that China will be making a request to the World Trade Organization to impose sanctions on the U.S. Japan’s Nikkei 225 extended its losses to 0.43 percent, as South Korea’s Kospi lost its earlier gains to trade slightly lower. In Australia, the ASX 200 recovered from some of its earlier losses but still remained down by 0.12 percent as the financial sector was by 0.32 percent. The Shanghai composite slid by 0.38 percent while the Shenzhen composite traded 0.122 percent lower.

 

In Currency Markets the US dollar fell on Wednesday as Canada signaled it was ready to make a concession to the United States to resolve their talks over reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement, though lingering anxiety over U.S.-China trade tensions weighed. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, edged down 0.1 percent at 95.133 in early trading. The Australian dollar, seen as a proxy for global growth due to the nation’s significant trade exposure to China, shed 0.3 percent to $0.7098.

 

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Wednesday following a report that crude inventories in the United States fell and as looming sanctions against Iran raised expectations of tightening supplies, with top producer Russia warning of a “fragile” global crude market. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $69.81 per barrel, up 56 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last settlement. WTI futures gained 2.5 percent in the previous session. Brent crude futures climbed 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $79.30 a barrel. Brent has gained 2.2 percent in the previous session.

 

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday as Apple led a jump in technology shares and a gain of more than 2 percent in oil prices drove up energy shares. Apple rose 2.5 percent, boosting the three major indexes, a day ahead of its expected unveiling of new iPhone models. The S&P technology sector gained 0.8 percent, its biggest percentage jump in two weeks, also boosted by Microsoft, up 1.7 percent, and Facebook, up 1.1 percent. The S&P 500 gained 0.37 percent, to 2,887.89 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.61 percent, to 7,972.47.

 

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury bond yields rose on Tuesday following a report of a record number of job openings in July as $144 billion in new supply on offer this week weighed on prices. Job openings, a measure of labor demand, increased by 117,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.9 million in July. That was the highest level since the series started in December 2000. The 10-year yield was 2.981 percent, up from a high on Monday of 2.950 percent. The 30-year yield was also up, last at 3.127 percent.

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