- Wednesday's cautious trade, influenced by a deteriorating economic outlook and the impending release of US data that may reveal inflation reached a new four-decade high, saw Asian markets edging up but oil held losses.
- The regional share gauge of MSCI saw modest advances due to a rise in Japan and mixed results in China and Hong Kong. After a near-1% decline on Wall Street driven by the tech and oil sectors, US futures shook and European contracts fell.
- Taiwan's stock market increased as the government promised to support domestic shares for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
- Treasuries remained stable, and a crucial area of the yield curve is still inverted, which could be an indication that a recession is imminent. At one time on Tuesday, the 10-yr yield was 12.4 bps lower than the 2-yr rate, a level not seen since 2007.
- Worries about growth are being fuelled by the swift tightening of monetary policy in the US and elsewhere to combat price pressures, which is unsettling markets. South Korea is the most recent country to hike interest rates.
- Oil prices stabilised at around $95 per barrel. Since March 2020, the dollar had reached its greatest point. For the first time in twenty years, the euro was still within striking distance of parity with the dollar. Inching closer to $19,000 was Bitcoin.
