In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed lower by 0.44 percent with investors tracking corporate earnings. Auto stocks fell 1.88 percent, with Peugeot down by 4.9 percent and Renault off by 3.57 percent. This was after news that European car sales fell 23.4 percent in the month of September. Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault led the decline, Reuters reported. The sector had already been placed under pressure by a note from Goldman Sachs that forecast a tricky third quarter for European auto makers.

In Currency Markets the US dollar rose for a second consecutive day on Wednesday as firmer stock markets fueled demand for the greenback, though the release of U.S. Federal Reserve minutes later in the day kept gains in check. The British pound was the biggest loser against the dollar, with lower than expected UK inflation data weighing on sterling. On Wednesday the euro traded a quarter of a percent lower at $1.1542, down 0.2 percent. On Tuesday it reached $1.1622, its highest since Oct. 1, before giving up gains.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Wednesday, with U.S. futures slipping below $70 a barrel for the first time in a month, after U.S. stockpiles rose by 6.5 million barrels, almost triple what analysts had forecast, while exports declined. U.S. light crude oil fell to $69.96 a barrel, down $1.96, or 2.7 percent. Oil had been rising on worries about Iranian sanctions and tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia after the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Brent crude was down $1.84, or 2.2 percent, to $79.66 a barrel, after gaining $1.15 over the previous three sessions.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday, a day after Wall Street’s strongest rally in seven months, as investors were disappointed with IBM’s results and remained cautious ahead of the minutes of Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. Shares of IBM fell 6.3 percent after the company’s quarterly revenue fell more than expected. Technology stocks led declines among the seven of 11 major S&P sectors that were lower. The S&P 500 was down 0.29 percent, at 2,801.73 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.26 percent, at 7,625.75.

In Bond Markets a recovery in Italy’s bond market fizzled out on Wednesday, with yields rising once again – this time on a report that the EU will say the draft Italian budget does not meet the bloc’s guidelines, news of fresh supply and a selloff in risk assets. Having fallen in the past two sessions as well as opening lower on Wednesday, Italian government bond yields were 3 to 8 basis points higher across the curve. As risk aversion returned to financial markets, yields on safe-haven German 10-year bonds fell to a two-week low of 0.45 percent.