School Articles

1. Global markets overview

U.S. stock futures are holding steady around Tuesday's closing levels, and most European markets are rising in early trading.

Asian markets ended with mixed results. The main indexes in China took the biggest falls in the region, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite dropping by 1.3%.

Yields on 10-year government bonds are edging higher.

2. Watching commodities

Prices for gold and other precious metals are dipping, alongside a slide in industrial metals such as copper.

Crude oil futures are holding on to recent gains, trading around $37 per barrel. But prices could swing after the U.S. government releases its weekly crude inventory data at 10:30 a.m.

Forex review

The pound held on to small gains against the dollar on Wednesday after data showing that U.K. industrial output rebounded in January after a steep drop in the previous month.

GBP/USD ticked up to highs of 1.4238 and was last at 1.4228, from around 1.4224 earlier.

The euro weakened against the other major currencies on Wednesday as expectations that the European Central Bank will almost certainly ease monetary policy again this week weighed.

The euro fell against the dollar, with EUR/USD down 0.36% to 1.0966.

The ECB is widely expected to cut rates further into negative territory at the conclusion of its monetary policy review on Thursday.

4. Tuesday market recap

It was a tough day on Tuesday following a five-day rally. All the main U.S. indexes fell. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.6%, the S&P 500 declined 1.1% and the Nasdaq was hardest hit, falling 1.3%.

But let's keep this in perspective: Over the past seven years, the Dow has surged by 159%, the S&P 500 is up 193% and the Nasdaq has made a stunning 266% gain.