In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday with new regulatory worries sparking the steepest sell-off in seven weeks for Chinese tech shares, while short-term Treasury yields spiked as investors wagered on inflation pulling forward interest rate rises. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8 percent led by a 3.5 percent decline on the Hang Seng tech index after China’s internet watchdog said it plans stricter registration rules for younger net users. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.6 percent. The broader Topix slid 0.42 percent to 2,009.84.

In Currency Markets the dollar edged lower in early European trade Wednesday in calm trading ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, while the U.K. budget places sterling in focus. The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1 percent lower at 93.892. Euro edged 0.1 percent higher at 1.1603, while sterling fell marginally to 1.3763 ahead of Britain’s annual budget. The Aussie dollar rose 0.2 percent to 0.7513 after Australian core inflation rose at its fastest annual pace since 2015, prompting traders to price in earlier hikes in interest rates.

In US Equity Markets stock indexes closed modestly higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Industrials and S&P 500 hitting fresh records, and gains were subdued as Facebook shares fell in the wake of its quarterly earnings. The Dow rose 0.04 percent, to 35,756.88; the S&P 500 gained 0.18 percent, at 4,574.79; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.06 percent, at 15,235.72. After the closing bell, Microsoft Corp gained 1.29 percent while Google parent Alphabet Inc lost 0.24 percent following their quarterly results. Nvidia Corp gained 6.70 percent to close at a record high of $247.17.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged up to their highest since 2014 on Tuesday, supported by a global supply shortage and strong demand in the United States, the world’s biggest consumer. Brent futures rose 0.5 percent to settle at $86.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended 1.1 percent higher at $84.65. Spot gold was down 0.9 percent at $1,790.54 per ounce.  Elsewhere, silver declined 2.2 percent to $24.01 per ounce. Platinum fell 2.6 percent to $1,029.65 per ounce, while palladium fell 2.7 percent to $1,995.91.

In European Equity Markets stocks hit a more-than two-month high on Tuesday, ending just below record levels as strong results from UBS, Reckitt Benckiser and others added to overall optimism about the third-quarter earnings season. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.8 percent to 475.74 points, its highest closing level since a record-high finish of 475.83 in August. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 1.0 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. European travel and leisure stocks were the best performers for the day, adding 1.9 percent on gains in hotel operator Whitbread.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Tuesday in thin volume, with those on the long end of the curve falling for a third straight session, as investors looked to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the timing of its first interest rate hike since December 2018. In afternoon U.S. trading, the benchmark U.S. 10-year yield was down nearly 2 basis points at 1.6185 percent. The U.S. 5-year yield, which reflects Fed tightening, was up half a basis point at 1.1828 percent. It touched an eight-month high of 1.193 percent last week. U.S. 30-year yields fell 3 basis points at 2.0506 percent.