1. Microsoft Corp (O:MSFT) said on Wednesday it would cut 7,800 jobs and write down about $7.6 billion related to its Nokia (HEL:NOK1V) handset business, which it acquired in 2013.
Most of the job cuts will be in the phone hardware business, underscoring the company's shift from hardware to its core software business.
2. Shares in Asia slumped on Wednesday as efforts by China to support shares failed to halt a rout in progress for more than a week and nervousness over a deadline for Greece to develop a reform package also dragged down sentiment.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.8% by the break after having fallen as much as 8% shortly after the open with trading in more than 500 companies listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai suspended.
3. The dollar fell to one-and-a-half month lows against the broadly stronger yen on Wednesday, dropping more than 1% as plunging Chinese stocks bolstered investor demand for the safety of the Japanese currency.
USD/JPY hit lows of 121.02, the weakest since May 22 and was last at 121.13, off 1.16% for the day.
4. Gold prices fell to a four-month low on Wednesday, as investors continued to monitor developments surrounding Greece's debt crisis and as losses mounted on Chinese stock markets.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange hit an intraday low of $1,146.20 a troy ounce, a level not seen since March 18, before trading at $1,150.00 during European morning hours, down $2.60, or 0.23%.
5. U.S. natural gas prices rose for the first time in three sessions on Wednesday to bounce off a four-week low as market participants looked ahead to fresh weekly information on U.S. gas inventories to gauge the strength of demand for the fuel.
Natural gas for delivery in August on the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on 2.1 cents, or 0.79%, to trade at $2.738 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.
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