Global Market Update

Asian Markets
Asian markets opened mixed on Wednesday, led by retreat in oil prices and Wall Street's ending higher on Tuesday.Japanese market received a lift from machinery orders data.Japan's Nikkei was trading higher propped by mergers-and-acquisition activity while Australian shares were weaker in the morning session in Sydney.
Nikkei Stock Average 225 was up 1.03 pct up 108.27 points to 10,633.46.
Hang Seng Index was up 0.73 pct up 173.92 points to 23,885.62.
KOSPI Index up 0.24% or 4.75 points at 2,001.07.
Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.05 pct up 1.38 points to 3,001.32.


US Markets
U.S. stocks on Tuesday ended higher, led by banks as Bank of America Corp. raised hopes it will increase dividends and share buybacks and oil prices eased amid news OPEC is considering a boost in output.Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 124.35 points, or 1.03%, to 12214.38.The S&P 500 Index closed up 11.69 points, or 0.89%, to 1321.82.The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 20.14 points, or 0.73%, to 2765.77.The CBOE Volatility Index fell below 20.Bank of America led financials higher and ended up 4.7%,American Express up +3.5%,JPMorgan up 2.68%,Citigroup up 2.7% while McDonald’s Corp. was down 1% after reporting U.S. sales below expectations.

European Markets
European markets ended higher on Tuesday on lower crude prices. FTSE was up 0.02 pct up 0.98 points to 5974.76.DAX was up 0.04 pct up 2.82 points to 7164.75.CAC40 was up 0.64 pct up 25.50 points to 4015.91.Miners shares were down tracking a drop in metals prices

Crude Oil & Gold
Crude prices on Tuesday pulled lower.Crude oil for April delivery was down 0.4% to $105.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April was down $1.98 to settle at $113.06 a barrel.Gold was down to settle below $1,428 an ounce, as easing crude oil prices on expectations of higher OPEC production.