In European Equity Markets indexes ended under slight pressure on Wednesday as positive trade on Wall Street failed to lift sentiment, as corporate news dominated discussion. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1 percent by the close, off its session lows. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.39 percent, while Germany’s DAX declined 0.47 percent. Media was one of the worst-performing industries, slipping 0.6 percent, dragged down by Informa and Pearson. Shares of Pearson fell 4.65 percent after the publisher reported a 2 percent fall in revenue in the first nine months of its fiscal year. U.K. fashion name Burberry sat at the bottom of the STOXX 600 at the end of trade, falling over 9 percent, after reporting lower sales in its third quarter.

In Currency Markets the euro slipped on Wednesday, pulling back from a three-year high above $1.23 as some European Central Bank officials voiced worries about the currency’s strength. The euro’s decline helped stabilize the greenback, which was also supported by a weaker Canadian dollar after the Bank of Canada struck a cautious tone on an expected rate hike on Wednesday. Still, the greenback snapped a four-session losing streak. The US dollar index was up 0.20 percent at 90.574. It hit a three-year low of 90.341 earlier. The Canadian dollar fell 0.38 percent to C$1.2477. The euro was down 0.16 percent at $1.2239 after hitting a three-year peak versus the greenback at $1.2322. Sterling was trading around the $1.38 mark, flat on the day.

In Commodities Markets oil prices were little changed on Wednesday ahead of the release of U.S. weekly petroleum inventory and production data. Brent futures traded at $69.16 a barrel , while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $63.77 per barrel. Both unchanged for the day. Copper resumed its decline on Wednesday as some speculators took profits from a December rally and others went short after prices broke below technical levels. Copper jumped 12 percent in a rally during December and has since eased back about 3 percent. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6 percent at $7,034 a tonne, after a fall of 1.8 percent on Tuesday. Lead fell 0.8 percent to $2,533 while tin added 0.1 percent to $20,485.

In US Equity Markets main indexes rose on Wednesday, led by gains in technology and industrial stocks, but losses in Goldman Sachs and Bank of America dragged down bank shares. Goldman Sachs fell about 3 percent after posting its first quarterly loss in six years on tax-related charges, while its trading business took a hit as volatility remained at historically low levels. BofA shares fell 2.6 percent after the second-biggest U.S. lender reported profit that nearly halved as it booked a $2.9 billion charge due to the new federal tax law. The S&P 500 banking index fell 0.61 percent and was on track to post its biggest percentage decline in more than two weeks. The S&P 500 rose 0.31 percent to 2,785.08 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.34 percent to 7,248.60. Boeing rose 2.6 percent after announcing a joint venture with car seating leader Adient to make aircraft seats.

In Bond Markets most euro zone government bond yields inched down on Wednesday, as jittery investors took comfort from signs that European Central Bank rate-setters are in no rush to signal an imminent change in the bank’s policy stance. The ECB’s Vitor Constancio said in an interview he did not rule out that monetary policy would remain “very accommodating for a long time”. The ECB’s Ewald Nowotny said recent euro strength against the dollar is “not helpful”. Most long-dated bond yields were down 0-2 basis points, although southern European bond yields were a touch higher. Greece’s five-year government bond yield fell to its lowest level since September on Wednesday at 2.788 percent, extending a downward move on upbeat sentiment as Greece is seen heading towards exiting its bailout program this year.