In Asian Equity Markets stocks were up on Wednesday morning as easing lockdowns in China offer some hope for the economic outlook. China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.03 percent, while the Shenzhen Component inched up 0.08 percent. Shanghai eased its lockdown on June 1, raising hopes that economic activity will pick up. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.66 percent, and In Australia, the ASX 200 edged up 0.13 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged down 0.18 percent. The South Korean market is closed for a holiday.

In Currency Markets the dollar rose to a two-week high versus the yen on Wednesday, lifted by higher Treasury yields as global inflation worries flared anew. The dollar index rose 0.19 percent to 101.94, extending a 0.38 percent rally from Tuesday, when data showed euro-area consumer inflation rising to a record. The greenback climbed 0.28 percent to 129.07 yen, and earlier touched 129.185 for the first time since May 18. The euro fell 0.15 percent to $1.0718, continuing its retreat from the more-than-one-month peak of $1.0787 hit on Monday after the ECB shifted to a more hawkish posture.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Tuesday, following a rally last week, as volatile oil markets kept rising inflation in focus and investors reacted to hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official. The Dow fell 0.67 percent, to 32,990.12, the S&P 500 lost 0.63 percent, to 4,132.15 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.41 percent, to 12,081.39. The only sector gainers were consumer discretionary, up 0.8 percent, with Amazon.com the S&P’s biggest boost from a single stock on the day, and communications services, up 0.4 percent, as Google was the S&P’s next biggest contributor.

In Commodities Markets oil prices turned negative on Tuesday after a report that some producers were exploring the idea of suspending Russia’s participation in the OPEC+ production deal. Brent crude futures for August settled down 1.7 percent, at $115.60 a barrel, after rising to $120.80 earlier in the day. U.S. WTI crude settled at $114.67 a barrel, down 0.4 percent from Friday’s close. Spot gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,842.50 per ounce. Silver fell 1.8 percent to $21.55 per ounce. Platinum rose 1.3 percent to $971.39. Palladium was down 1.4 percent to $2,004.96.

In European Equity Markets eurozone shares hit session lows on Tuesday after data showed inflation rose to a record high in May, spurring bets of bigger interest rate hikes by the ECB. The STOXX index of eurozone shares fell 1.3 percent and the pan-European STOXX 600 index, flat before the reading, fell 0.7 percent. The euro region’s banks, which typically welcome signs of rising interest rates, slid 1.6 percent as investors worried about the hit to the economy from rising prices. Nordic stocks hit a record high on Tuesday, last up 1 percent and among the day’s rare outperformers along with London’s FTSE index.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose sharply on Tuesday, with most maturities hitting one-week highs, as investors re-focused on inflation risks after euro zone inflation climbed to a record high this month and after upbeat U.S. economic data. In afternoon trading, U.S. benchmark 10-year yields gained nearly 10 bps to 2.8477 percent. U.S. 30-year yields rose 8 bps to 3.0558 percent. On the front end of the curve, U.S. two-year yields rose 4.8 bps to 2.5464 percent. The yield curve was also steeper, with the spread between U.S. two-year and 10-year yields wider at 29 bps.