In Asian Equity Markets traded higher on Wednesday morning. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.28% in morning trade, with shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group and Fanuc rising. Nissan Motor saw its stock decilned more than 2.5% after Reuters reported, citing Japanese media, that the company was set to slash its earnings outlook for the fiscal year that ended in March. In South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.13%, with chipmaker SK Hynix seeing its stock decline more than 2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.2%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar hovered near a 22-month high against its peers on Wednesday, after strong U.S. housing data further eased concerns of a slowdown in the world’s biggest economy. The dollar index versus a basket of six major currencies stood at 97.602 after rising to 97.777 overnight, its highest since June 2017. Data showing sales of new U.S. single-family homes jumped to a near 1-1/2-year high in March on Tuesday added to recent positive readings in retail sales and exports.

In Commodities Markets oil prices inched lower on Wednesday on signs that global markets remain adequately supplied despite a jump to 2019 highs this week on Washington’s push for tighter sanctions against Iran. Brent crude futures were at $74.24 per barrel, down 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. U.S. WTI  crude futures were at $66.02 per barrel, down 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous settlement. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels in the week to April 19 to 459.6 million, data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed on Tuesday.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 set a record high on Tuesday. The S&P 500 gained 0.88%, to 2,933.68 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.32%, to 8,120.82. Twitter jumped 15.6%, its biggest single-day gain since October 2017, after posting better-than-expected quarterly revenue and a surprising rise in monthly active users. Lockheed Martin posted better-than-expected quarterly profit as U.S. President Donald Trump’s looser policies on foreign arms sales boosted demand for missiles and fighter jets. Shares rose 5.7%.

In Bond Markets the yield curve steepened to just a tenth of a basis point below its 2019 high on Tuesday. The spread between the two- and 10-year Treasury note yields , a highly watched measure of the yield curve, rose as high as 20.7 basis points, for the second consecutive day above 20 basis points, a level the spread has struggled to break through this year. There was also a bid in five-year notes, which saw yields fall 2.7 basis points to 2.361 percent, and in seven-year note yields down 2.5 basis points to 2.462 percent.