In Economy
On Wednesday, Asian Indices edged higher and the dollar fell to a three-week low after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reinforced the U.S. central bank's recent shift toward a more "patient" approach on policy in the face of a slowing economy.
Global equities have performed strongly this week - MSCI's world stock index advanced to a five-month peak - on factors including ebbing concerns toward U.S.-China trade tensions.
On Tuesday, The Dow rebounded from early losses but ended lower as stronger consumer confidence data countered a slide in Home Depot . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13% to 26,057.98, after bouncing from a session low of 25,966.01. The S&P 500 lost 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.07%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's somewhat dovish testimony before the Senate Banking Committee reaffirmed investor expectations the central bank is likely to continue to pause on future interest rate hikes. On Tuesday, Powell said rising risks and recent soft data were unlikely to prevent solid growth for the U.S. economy this year, but that the Fed would remain "patient" in its decisions on further interest rate hikes.
In Currency Market
On Wednesday, The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood at 95.98 after shedding 0.4% overnight, when it stooped to 95.948, its lowest since Feb. 5.
The pound was up 0.1% at $1.3251 after surging more than 1% overnight to a five-month peak of $1.3288.
The Australian dollar was a shade higher at $0.7178 and up for the fourth straight session.
USD/JPY is stable in Tokyo, stuck in a tight range of between 110.51 and 110.61 at the time of writing, lacking a driver with the majority of the hard work done by the bears in North America. USD/JPY fell from above 111 in the Sydney morning to under 110.50 late NY.
USD/CHF daily chart USD/CHF trades near 0.9995 during early Asian sessions. The pair repeatedly refrains from declining below 0.9985-80 support-line connecting recent lows to the highs marked during early December and January.
The People's Bank of China sets the yuan reference rate at 6.6857 vs the previous day's fix of 6.6952.
In Commodity Market
On Wednesday, Oil prices rose after a report of declining crude inventories in the country and as producer club OPEC seemed to stick to its supply cuts despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were at $56.03 per barrel, up 0.95%, from their last settlement.
International Brent crude futures were at $65.71 per barrel, down -0.15%from their last close.
Investors in palladium, meanwhile, chased prices of the auto-catalyst metal to record highs for a second-straight day on strike threats at South African mines.
Future gold, reflective of trades in physical bullion, was up $2.75 at $1,331.25. Investors have been using gold as a hedge to the U.S.-China trade negotiations, extending the yellow metal's safe-haven play.
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