In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a less hawkish tone than feared during a recent speech, while Japan’s Nikkei lagged on a slew of weak earnings. Technology-heavy bourses tracked overnight gains on Wall Street, with South Korea’s KOSPI, the Taiwan Weighted index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up between 0.4 percent and 1.3 percent. But Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lagged its peers on Wednesday, losing 0.4 percent after disappointing results from Nintendo Co Ltd, Softbank Group Corp, and Sharp Corp.

In Currency Markets the dollar eased on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell showed little sign of a hawkish pushback against a resilient labour market in the United States, raising hopes that interest rates may not rise much further. Sterling rose 0.02 percent to $1.20525, rebounding from Tuesday’s one-month trough of $1.19615. Similarly, the euro was last marginally higher at $1.0730, after falling to $1.06695 in the previous session, its lowest since Jan. 9. The kiwi lost 0.02 percent to $0.6324, while the Aussie advanced 0.06 percent to $0.6964, after rising more than 1 percent on Tuesday.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday, but trade was choppy as investors digested comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell about how long the central bank may need to tame inflation. The Dow rose 0.78 percent, to 34,156.69, the S&P 500 gained 1.29 percent, to 4,164 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.9 percent, to 12,113.79. DuPont De Nemours Inc jumped 7.50 percent on a higher-than-expected quarterly profit supported by higher pricing for its products. Bed Bath & Beyond fell almost 50 percent as the home-goods retailer sought to raise $1 billion in a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy.

In Commodities Markets oil prices climbed more than 3 percent on Tuesday after the head of the U.S. central bank eased market concerns over interest rate hikes, while recovering demand in China also boosted prices. Brent crude futures were up 3.3 percent, to $83.69 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 4.1 percent, to $77.14 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,870.49 per ounce. Spot silver fell 0.5 percent to $22.16 per ounce and platinum fell 0.1 percent to $971.05, while palladium jumped 3.1 percent to $1,647.87.

In European Equity Markets stocks eked out slim gains on Tuesday, helped by some upbeat earnings reports though investors grew increasingly jittery about interest rates staying higher for longer as they awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.2 percent. The banks subindex rose 1.2 percent as BNP Paribas gained 2.6 percent after raising its 2025 targets and posting upbeat revenue growth. Siemens Energy fell 2.3 percent on plans to raise capital to help fund the planned takeover of its troubled wind division.

In Bond Markets benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at four-week highs as investors waited to see whether Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will strike a more hawkish tone when he speaks later on Tuesday, following unexpectedly strong jobs data last week. Benchmark 10-year yields rose as high as 3.666 percent, the highest since Jan. 6, and are up from a low of 3.333 percent on Thursday before the data. Two-year yields were last at 4.452 percent, after reaching 4.493 percent on Monday, also the highest since Jan. 6.