In Asian Equity Markets indices were up on Wednesday, pointing to a positive conclusion to what’s been a volatile October for shares. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.67 percent in the afternoon while the Topix gained 1.64 percent. Shares of Sony jumped 4.04 percent after the company lifted its annual profit forecast by 30 percent after a strong second-quarter. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 was largely flat in the afternoon as the energy sector advanced 0.87 percent and materials fell 0.2 percent. The Shanghai composite rose 1.13 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar hovered near 16-month highs versus a basket of its major rivals after gaining overnight as traders bet on the relative out performance of the U.S. economy and continued rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The dollar strengthened to a three-week high versus the Japanese yen trade at 113.21, having gained 0.6 percent the previous day. The euro changed hands at $1.1343, steady from its New York close. The single currency has lost 2.3 percent versus the greenback in October.

In Commodities Markets oil prices climbed for the first time in three days on Wednesday, but rising supply and fears over the outlook for demand amid the U.S.-China trade war kept pressure on the market. Brent crude futures had gained 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $76.43 a barrel. They fell 1.8 percent on Tuesday, at one point touching their lowest since Aug. 24 at$75.09 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $66.47 a barrel on Wednesday. They fell 1.3 percent the day before, after hitting their weakest since Aug. 17 at $65.33 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets stock indexes jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday, helped by strong gains for chip and transport stocks as investors took advantage of cheaper prices following a steep recent pullback for equities. The S&P 500 gained 1.57 percent, to 2,682.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.58 percent, to 7,161.65. The Philadelphia semiconductor index jumped 4.2 percent, its biggest one-day percentage gain since March. Intel jumped 5.2 percent and gave the biggest single-stock boost to the S&P 500.

In Bond Markets yields on U.S. Treasury bonds were steady in light trading on Tuesday as investors held off on making big moves ahead of this week’s spate of economic data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government note was up around 2 basis points, as were yields on the 30-year bond and two-year note. On Wednesday, the Treasury will make its quarterly refunding announcement. Analysts expect that two-, three-, and five-year note auctions will be increased by $1 billion a month, and that seven-, 10- and 30-year bond auctions will increase by $1 billion a quarter.