In Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks ended lower on Wednesday as the fallout from rising costs of raw materials weighed on a raft of earnings results and sapped risk sentiment. The Nikkei average closed 0.61 percent lower at 29,106.78, extending losses for a fourth straight session, while the broader Topix lost 0.54 percent to 2,007.96. The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.5 percent at 4,821.19, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent to 3,492.46 points. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.2 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar trod water against major peers on Wednesday after weakening in the past three days and traded near a one-month low to the yen, with investors awaiting U.S. inflation data for a clue to when the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates. The dollar eased slightly to 112.83 yen, while the euro lost 0.13 percent to $1.15805. The Aussie slid 0.33 percent to $0.7355 and touched $0.73545 for the first time since Oct. 13. New Zealand’s kiwi fell 0.36 percent to $0.7104. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rivals, edged back to 94.053.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Tuesday, ending a multi-day rally of consecutive record closing highs as profit-taking and worries over ongoing inflation fueled a broad sell-off. The Dow fell 0.31 percent, to 36,319.98, the S&P 500 lost 0.35 percent, to 4,685.25 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6 percent, to 15,886.54. General Electric Co rose 2.6 percent following the 129-year-old industrial conglomerate’s announcement that it would split into three separate public companies to simplify its business. Upbeat quarterly results sent video game maker Zynga Inc jumping 9.4 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday as the passage of the U.S. infrastructure bill and China’s export growth supported the outlook for energy demand. Saudi Arabia’s state-owned producer Aramco also raised the official selling price for its crude. U.S. crude increased 0.98 percent to $82.73 per barrel as Brent was up 0.43 percent at $83.79. Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,828.74 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.2 percent higher at $1,830.80. Spot silver declined 0.8 percent to $24.25 per ounce, platinum fell 0.1 percent to $1,054.64 and palladium fell 2.4 percent to $2,021.35.

In European Equity Markets stocks retreated from record highs on Tuesday, although strong corporate earnings and hopes of a recovery kept losses limited as investors awaited fresh cues from economic data due this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.2 percent lower at 482.71 points, holding just below its record peak hit last week. German group Munich Re fell 2.5 percent after warning of more COVID-related losses in its reinsurance business. Renault rose 3.8 percent to the top of France’s CAC 40 after its Japanese partner Nissan reported a quarterly profit and hiked its full-year forecast.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury real yields fell sharply on Tuesday as traders hedging against the possibility of rising prices scooped up inflation-linked securities, even as they also bought conventional debt as a low-risk investment. The yield on 10-year TIPS fell as low as -1.21 percent and the yield on 30-year TIPS touched a record low of -0.592 percent. The benchmark 10-year yield was down 6.3 basis points at 1.4341 percent in afternoon trading. The yield on the 30-year bond reached as low as 1.795 percent. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was down 3.8 basis points at 0.4108 percent.