In Asian Equity Markets Hong Kong stocks rose on Wednesday, extending a run of recent gains amid increased speculation over a further loosening of the financial hub’s anti-COVID restrictions, while broader Asian markets fell as investors turned cautious ahead of key U.S. economic data this week. The Hang Seng index rose 2.3 percent as media reports suggested that Hong Kong could announce its border reopening plan with the mainland by as soon as Thursday. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite indexes falling 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.4 percent.

In Currency Markets the euro steadied on Wednesday and riskier currencies bounced, lifted by optimism China’s eventual emergence from COVID restrictions helps growth. The euro had lost 1 percent overnight, but it edged up from three-week lows to $1.0566 in Asia trade. The Australian dollar rose 0.7 percent to $0.6735. Sterling hovered at $1.1986 and the kiwi nudged 0.3 percent higher to $0.6263. The U.S. dollar index rose 1 percent on Tuesday to 104.73 and it eased a little on Wednesday to 104.47. The yen was 0.2 percent stronger at 130.76 per dollar.

In US Equity Markets main indexes closed lower on the first trading day of 2023 with the biggest drags from Tesla and Apple, while investors worried about the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hiking path as they awaited minutes from its December meeting. The Dow fell 0.03 percent, to 33,136.37; the S&P 500 lost 0.40 percent, to 3,824.14; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76 percent, to 10,386.99. The benchmark’s biggest gainer on the day was communications services, with Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc leading the advancers there with a gain of 3.7 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell 4 percent in volatile trade on Tuesday, pressured by weak demand data from China, a gloomy economic outlook and a stronger U.S. dollar. Brent futures for March delivery fell 4.4 percent, to $82.10 a barrel, the largest daily decline in more than three months. U.S. crude fell to $76.93 per barrel, a 4.1 percent loss, its biggest fall in more than a month. Spot gold was up 0.8 percent to $1,838.56 per ounce. Auto-catalyst metal palladium fell 5.3 percent to $1,699.58 per ounce. Spot silver rose 0.3 percent to $24.07, while platinum jumped 1.5 percent to $1,085.50.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Tuesday, with large-cap pharmaceutical companies boosting the main STOXX 600 index, while the region’s largest economy, Germany, saw a slowdown in inflation for a second month in a row in December. The pan-regional STOXX 600 rose 1.2 percent, closing at its highest level in nearly three weeks. Among individual movers, Deutsche Bank rose 1.6 percent on a report it is on track with restructuring targets and will retain its forecasts until 2025 despite risks from the Ukraine war, aggressive inflation and recession.

In Bond Markets longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday, with the 10-year yield retreating after two straight weeks of gains to close out 2022 with its biggest annual gain in decades over concerns about the path of the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 3.9 basis points at 3.792 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond yield fell 4.8 basis points to 3.890 percent. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was unchanged at 4.403 percent.