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US Stock Market:
Wall Street opened with significant declines but later recovered some ground. The Nasdaq Composite briefly approached breakeven in the New York afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%.
European Stock Markets:
European markets opened relatively stable, with Germany’s DAX index up 0.2% in early trading. European stocks continued to rise, showing an upward trend before the close. At the end of the session, Germany’s DAX index closed up 0.5%, the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, and France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.2%.
Asian Stock Markets:
Asian stock markets showed strong performance on Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged 2.6%, China’s Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.0%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 increased by 0.4%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6%, with industrial and financial sectors performing particularly well.
Currency Markets:
The US dollar initially strengthened on CPI data but later retreated on news of Trump-Putin negotiations. EUR/USD rebounded from a low of 1.0317, continuing to rise to 1.0430 in the New York afternoon before sliding as the dollar rebounded. GBP/USD bounced from a low of 1.2377 to a high of 1.2477.
USD/CAD fell to 1.42555 but later bounced from the lows. AUD/USD stabilized around 0.6285 at the Sydney open. Earlier, AUD/USD had dropped to 0.6235 after the CPI data release, then rebounded above 0.6300. NZD/USD declined to a low of 0.5601. USD/JPY rose to a high of 154.80.
Economic Data:
US January CPI increased 0.5% month-over-month and 3.0% year-over-year, both higher than expected. Core CPI also exceeded expectations.
Bond Market:
The US 10-year Treasury yield held steady at 4.53%.
Commodity Market:
Brent crude oil fell back below $76.50 per barrel.
Geopolitics:
News of negotiations between former President Trump and Russian President Putin regarding the Ukraine war, as well as reports of Ukraine considering a draft agreement, had a positive impact on market sentiment.
