• President Donald Trump tried to rally Republican lawmakers behind a plan to dismantle Obamacare on Tuesday as U.S. stock markets showed their worst one-day performance since the November election.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1 percent in their worst one-day performances since before Trump's election victory on Nov. 8. The S&P financial index sank 2.87 percent, its biggest daily fall since June.
• "The dollar positions accumulated in the buildup and immediate aftermath of the U.S. election look to have been fully unwound," Bank of America strategists led by Myria Kyriacou wrote in a research note. "Positioning will not be the main driver of the next broad dollar move."
• With the U.S. workforce nearly fully employed and inflation heading toward 2 percent, the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates two more times this year and continue work on a plan to gradually trim its massive balance sheet, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said.
Kaplan also said he is "mindful" that some of the policies expected under President Donald Trump's new administration, including changes to immigration and trade policies and changes to health insurance, could slow economic growth or hurt consumer spending. He and his staff have been trying to figure out why some of the latest readings on consumer spending already suggest some sluggishness, and will keep a close eye on those figures going forward.
• Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives was up 1 percentage point at 34 percent, widening their lead over the Social Democrats (SPD) who were down one point at 31 percent, a Forsa poll showed on Wednesday, with six months to go before a federal vote.
• Japan's exports grew the most in more than two years in February, rebounding from a Lunar New Year slowdown in January, as a widening trade surplus with the United States potentially raises tensions in the face of rising U.S. protectionism.
Annual export growth of 11.3 percent topped a 10.6 percent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll and followed a 1.3 percent rise in January, marking the biggest gain since January 2015, Ministry of Finance data showed on Wednesday.
Exports to the United States rose 0.4 percent in February from a year ago, largely from bigger shipments of cars and auto parts.
• Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as rising crude stocks in the United States underscored an ongoing global fuel supply overhang despite an OPEC-led effort to cut output.
At 0803 GMT, prices for front-month Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil, were at $50.66 per barrel, down 30 cents or 0.59 percent from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $47.96 a barrel.
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg
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