In Asian Equity Markets stocks were mostly up Wednesday morning, with reassuring comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials on inflation and monetary policy starting to calm investors’ frayed nerves. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.16 percent with the Bank of Japan released the minutes from its own monetary policy meeting earlier in the day. South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.28 percent while in Australia, the ASX 200 was down 0.41 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.78 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.02 percent while the Shenzhen Component was up 0.38 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar remained on the back foot against major peers on Wednesday after a two-day decline as U.S. Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed that tighter monetary policy was still some way off. The euro was little changed on Wednesday at $1.19340, after rebounding from as low as $1.18470 at the end of last week. The Aussie dollar was largely flat at $0.7546, up from a recent low of $0.7478. The yen was mostly unchanged at 110.740 per dollar, close to the 110.825 mark reached last week for the first time since April 1.

In US Equity Markets the Nasdaq ended at a record high on Tuesday, lifted by Amazon, Microsoft and other top-shelf tech companies as investors shifted their focus to growth stocks. The Dow rose 0.2 percent to end at 33,945.58, while the S&P 500 gained 0.51 percent to 4,246.44. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.79 percent to 14,253.27. Moderna Inc rose 6.3 percent after the European Union decided to take up an option under a supply contract with the drugmaker that allows the bloc to order 150 million additional COVID-19 vaccines.

In Commodities Markets gold prices were little changed in choppy trade on Tuesday with gains kept in check by a firm dollar as investors turned their attention to U.S. Fed chief Jerome Powell’s testimony for cues on monetary policy. Spot gold held around $1,783.31 per ounce. Elsewhere, silver rose 0.1 percent to $25.96 per ounce, palladium eased 0.2 percent to $2,580.54, and platinum was trading 1 percent higher at $1,063.53. Brent crude was last down 0.32 percent, at $74.66 a barrel, while U.S. crude was last down 0.84 percent, at $73.04 per barrel.

In European Equity Markets stocks settled higher on Tuesday as mining and energy stocks benefited from stable commodity prices, while investors hunkered down ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.3 percent higher after flitting between gains through the session, with mining stocks rising 1.3 percent as base metal prices appeared to have stabilized from a recent decline. Chemical stocks rose 1.1 percent to a record high, as investors favoured sectors most likely to benefit from an economic recovery this year.

In Bond Markets benchmark 10-year Treasuries yields inched lower on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated to Congress that the central bank will not raise interest rates until there are signs of a “broad and inclusive” recovery in the job market and economy. The 10-year yield eked down to 1.47 percent after touching 1.509 percent earlier in the day. Two-year yields, which are more sensitive to interest rate changes, fell to 0.2362 percent while long duration 30-year bond yields edged down to 2.0967 percent.