In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei index rose on Wednesday as the yen’s appreciation slowed, but gains were limited as investors continued to worry about some policies of President Donald Trump’s administration. The Nikkei, which was down in early trade, ended 0.6 percent higher to 19,148.08. The broader Topix gained 0.4 percent to 1,527.77, with 28 of its 33 subsectors in positive territory. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 also rose 0.4 percent to 13,696.93. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan added 0.1 percent in a quiet session.

In Currency Markets the dollar edged up against a basket of major peers on Wednesday as bargain hunters stepped in after the dollar slid overnight to a seven-week low, reflecting mounting concerns that the United States was poised to ditch a two decade-old “strong dollar” policy. The dollar was up 0.4 percent at 113.260 yen after falling overnight to a two-month low of 112.080. The euro was 0.1 percent lower at $1.0791. The Australian dollar was down 0.25 percent at $0.7570 and the New Zealand dollar was 0.6 percent lower at $0.7275 after the jobless rate jumped and wage growth remained sluggish. The dollar index was up 0.2 percent at 99.705 after falling nearly 1 percent overnight to its lowest level since Dec. 8.

In Commodities Markets oil fell on Wednesday, weighed down by ongoing high supplies despite an OPEC-led production cut, but prices remained within a narrow trading band that has been in place since late January. Brent crude futures were trading at $55.44 per barrel, down 14 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $52.74 a barrel, down 7 cents. Spot gold edged down 0.2 percent to $1,208.67 an ounce and U.S. gold futures lost 0.1 percent to $1,207.80. Spot silver fell 0.7 percent to $17.41 an ounce, after touching its highest in more than 11 weeks at $17.61. Platinum was firm at $994. Palladium was mostly unchanged at $753.23.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 fell on Tuesday for a fourth consecutive session, weighed by sectors sensitive to economic growth amid disappointing earnings and lingering concern over the priorities of the Trump administration. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.54 percent, to 19,864.09, the S&P 500 lost 0.09 percent, to 2,278.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.02 percent, to 5,614.79. Package delivery company UPS fell 6.8 percent after posting a quarterly loss and issuing a full-year profit forecast that missed expectations. Industrials were the day’s largest decliners among S&P 500 sectors. Under Armour lost nearly a fourth of its market value, down 23.4 percent.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bonds fell on Wednesday as investors refrained from buying ahead of a 10-year JGB auction on Thursday. The 10-year JGB yield rose 1.0 basis point to 0.090 percent, matching a six-week high touched last week and near the 0.10 percent mark, which is widely seen as the Bank of Japan’s line of defence to keep the yield around its policy target of “around zero percent”. The 20-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.660 percent while the 30-year yield rose 0.5 basis point to 0.830 percent.

Economic Calendar
10:30 GMT+0 UK Manufacturing PMI
14:15 GMT+0 US ADP Non-Farm Employment Change
16:00 GMT+0 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
16:30 GMT+0 US Crude Oil Inventories
20:00 GMT+0 US FOMC Statement
20:00 GMT+0 US Federal Funds Rate

US Equity Earnings
Eli Lilly (LLY) – Q4 EPS USD 0.95 vs. Exp. USD 0.98 and revenue USD 5.76bln vs. Exp. USD 5.61bln.
Valero Energy (VLO) – Q4 EPS USD 0.81 vs. Exp. USD 0.77 and revenue USD 20.71mln vs. Exp. USD 18.31bln.
PACCAR (PCAR) – Q4 EPS USD 0.82 vs. Exp. USD 0.86 and revenue USD 3.77bln vs. Exp. USD 4.01bln.
Mastercard (MA) – Q4 Adj. USD 0.86 vs. Exp. USD 0.85 and Q4 revenue USD 2.80bln vs. Exp. USD 2.78bln.
Sprint (S) – Q3 loss/shr USD 0.12 vs. Exp. USD loss/shr 0.08 and Q3 revenue 8.55bln vs. Exp. USD 8.26bln.
Under Armour (UA) – Q4 EPS USD 0.23 vs. Exp. USD 0.25 and Q4 revenue USD 1.3bln vs. Exp. USD 1.4bln.
ExxonMobil (XOM) – Q4 EPS USD 0.89 vs. Exp. USD 0.70; including an impairment charge and Q4 revenue USD 61.02bln vs. Exp. USD 63.60bl.
General Growth Properties (GGP) – Report Q4 FFO USD 0.43 vs. Exp. USD 0.43 and Q4 revenue USD 610.3mln vs. Exp. USD 607mln.
Pfizer (PFE) – Q4 Adj. EPS USD 0.47 vs. Exp. USD 0.50 and Q4 revenue USD 13.6bln vs. Exp. USD 13.5bln.
Danaher (DHR) – Q4 EPS USD 1.05 vs. Exp. USD 1.03 and revenue USD 4.58bln vs. Exp. USD 4.49bln.
Aetna (AET) – Q4 EPS USD 1.63 vs. Exp. USD 1.44 and revenue USD 15.73bln vs. Exp. USD 15.78bln.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) – Q4 EPS USD 2.41 vs. Exp. USD 2.38 and revenue USD 4.95bln vs. Exp. USD 4.99bln.
Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) – Q4 Adj. EPS USD 2.14 vs. Exp. USD 2.11 and Q4 revenue USD 2.01bln vs. Exp. USD 1.84bln.

US Equity Upgrades
ASHFORD HOSPITALITY PRIME (AHP) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT JANNEY CAPITAL
BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP (BHLB) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM SELL AT COMPASS POINT
CBOE HOLDINGS (CBOE) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM UNDERPERFORM AT BOFA/MERRILL
CLEAN HARBORS (CLH) UPGRADED TO OVERWEIGHT FROM SECTOR WEIGHT AT KEYBANC
MARKETAXESS (MKTX) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM UNDERPERFORM AT MACQUARIE
MULTI PACKAGING (MPSX) UPGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM UNDERPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE
NATIONAL RETAIL PROPERTIES (NNN) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT BOFA/MERRILL
TEVA (TEVA) UPGRADED TO BUY FROM NEUTRAL AT BOFA/MERRILL
VIPER ENERGY (VNOM) UPGRADED TO OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

US Equity Downgrades
BIGLARI (BH) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT CL KING
BUFFALO WILD WINGS (BWLD) DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM UNDERPERFORM AT CLSA
CRANE (CR) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT BOENNING & SCATTERGOOD
FITBIT (FIT) DOWNGRADED TO SELL FROM NEUTRAL AT CITI
IXIA (XXIA) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT DA DAVIDSON
MACY’S (M) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM BUY AT BUCKINGHAM
RANDGOLD (GOLD) DOWNGRADED TO NEUTRAL FROM OUTPERFORM AT CREDIT SUISSE

US Equity Initiations
AT&T (T) INITIATED WITH A HOLD AT EVERCORE ISI
GLOBAL EAGLE (ENT) INITIATED WITH A MARKET PERFORM AT WILLIAM BLAIR
ILG (ILG) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT JANNEY CAPITAL
MODINE (MOD) MANUFACTURING INITIATED WITH A BUY AT GABELLI
MSG NETWORKS (MSGN) COVERAGE RESUMED WITH A BUY AT BOFA/MERRILL
NAVIENT (NAVI) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT WEDBUSH
SALLIE MAE (SLM) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT WEDBUSH
SPRINT (S) INITIATED WITH A HOLD AT EVERCORE ISI
T-MOBILE (TMUS) INITIATED WITH A BUY AT EVERCORE ISI
VERIZON (VZ) INITIATED WITH A HOLD AT EVERCORE ISI
VIASAT (VSAT) INITIATED WITH AN OUTPERFORM AT WILLIAM BLAIR
WYNDHAM (WYN) INITIATED WITH A NEUTRAL AT JANNEY CAPITAL