ECONOMY
On Thursday, Asian shares slipped as a surprise deterioration in German business morale rekindled fears of slowing global growth, while oil prices pulled back slightly after a sharp run-up earlier in the week. The euro slumped to a 22-month low against the U.S. dollar overnight after the drop in German business confidence highlighted the divergence between data in the euro zone and the United States.
Overnight, Wall Street shrugged off some earnings misses but drifted lower at the end of the session, after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite registered record closing highs on Tuesday.
A sharp slowdown in Australian inflation also lifted bond prices, while Premier Li Keqiang in China said authorities should not underestimate the difficulties in the Chinese economy, adding to concerns about global demand.
U.S. yield curve steepened to its widest level since November at one time on Wednesday, in an expression of bullish sentiment.
The Bank of Japan is expected to keep monetary policy steady later on Thursday and predict that inflation will fall short of its 2 percent target for three more years, signaling that its massive stimulus will stay in place for the foreseeable future.
Investors are also awaiting the release of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first quarter, due on Friday.
CURRENCY
Dollar index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of six major rivals, rose to as high as 98.189 overnight, its highest level since May 2017. The index was last quoted at 98.133.
The euro sat at $1.1150, having suffered its biggest one-day loss against the dollar since early March.
The pound held at a two-month low, weighed down by a broad-based rally in the dollar and fading hopes of a breakthrough in Brexit talks between the British government and the opposition.
U.S. Treasury yields fell across maturities on Wednesday as investors piled into the safe-haven asset after a slew of weak international economic data.
COMMODITY
Oil prices hovered below six-month highs after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles surged to their highest levels since October 2017, countering fears of tight supply resulting from OPEC output cuts and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran. Brent crude futures fell 0.13% to $74.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped 0.30% to $65.69 a barrel.
Malaysian palm oil futures recouped earlier losses to close flat at the end of the trading day on Wednesday, helped by gains in the U.S. soyoil and on prospects of improving export demand.
U.S. corn futures fell to their lowest level in seven months on Wednesday and spot soybean futures hit a 5-1/2-month low on ample global supplies and dimming prospects for U.S. export business.
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