01 March 

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Currency Markets the dollar spurted higher in Asian trade on Wednesday as Federal Reserve policy-setters fanned expectations of a rate hike this month, overshadowing a key speech by U.S. President Donald Trump that offered little details on his stimulus. The greenback traded at 113.16 yen, up 0.35 percent from late U.S. levels, while the euro fell 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.0565. The Australian dollar showed muted response to a private survey showing China's factory activity expanding at a faster pace than expected in February. The Aussie traded at $0.7666, up 0.2 percent on the day. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers was last up 0.1 percent at 101.45.

Commodities Markets crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as the dollar trimmed gains and a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump offered little on plans by his administration to boost U.S. oil production. The market is being underpinned by OPEC's production cuts while rising U.S. shale oil output is keeping a lid on prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 0.2 percent, to $54.12 a barrel and Brent crude added 0.3 percent, to $56.66. Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,244.93 per ounce. The metal hit its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,263.80 on Feb. 27.  Spot silver fell 0.2 percent to $18.25 per ounce. Platinum was down 0.4 percent at $1,018.74, while palladium rose 0.2 percent to $771.50.

 US Equity Markets  stocks fell on Tuesday and the Dow snapped a 12-day streak of record closes as investors awaited President Donald Trump's address to Congress, while a disappointing outlook from Target dragged down retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.12 percent, to 20,812.24, the S&P 500 had lost 0.26 percent, to 2,363.64 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.62 percent, to 5,825.44.  Charles Schwab fell 3.2 percent after the company said it would cut its ETF trade and online equity fees, following similar cuts by Fidelity Investments. TD Ameritrade lost 10.4 percent. Priceline rose 5.6 percent following quarterly revenue that blew past estimates.

Bond Markets longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday on month-end buying and shorter-dated yields rose on bets the Federal Reserve migh raise interest rates as soon as March, causing a part of the yield curve to hit its flattest level since November. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was marginally lower in late trading at 2.365 percent, while the 30-year yield was down nearly 2 basis points at 2.967 percent.

Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks recovered from intraday lows on Wednesday afternoon after U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to Congress offered few details or surprises on tax and spending policies. The Nikkei index rose 1.3 percent to 19,366.88 in early afternoon trade, up from the morning close of 19,222.56. The broader Topix gained 0.8 percent to 1,548.15 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 rose 0.9 percent to 13,872.79. Chinese stocks advanced 0.4 percent after the stronger-than expected factory readings. Australian stocks were off 0.5 percent despite stronger-than-expected GDP data.