Australian Market

US Market

U.S. stocks fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said further stimulus could be needed to support the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus-induced
contraction.  The S&P 500 dropped 1.6% as of the 4 p.m. close of trading in New York, extending Tuesday’s loss of more than 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.1%, or 500 points, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.5%.

The declines were broad, with all 11 sectors of the S&P 500 in the red. Shares of beaten-down airline, energy and bank stocks were among the biggest decliners. United
Airlines Holdings dropped 8.8%, Halliburton fell 8.9% and Wells Fargo lost 6%. Investors have been eagerly seeking any clues about the potential length and severity
of the economic downturn. In a speech Wednesday morning, Mr. Powell revealed growing alarm about the path ahead, describing the outlook as “highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks.”

Commodities

Gold futures climbed to register a second straight finish above the $1,700-an-ounce mark, as traders weighed the outlook for economic growth and the prospects for negative U.S. interest rates to gauge the precious metal’s next big move.

Gold for June delivery on Comex rose $9.60, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,716.40 an ounce, while July silver gave up earlier gains to end 3.8 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $15.671 an
ounce.

Oil Futures

U.S. benchmark oil prices ended the session 1.9% lower at $25.29 barrel due to broader-market risk aversion after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the economic outlook
was “highly uncertain” due to coronavirus issues, and that more stimulus might be needed.

WTI’s fall comes after a brief climb from a mostly-bullish weekly EIA report that saw a surprising drop in U.S. oil inventories, and a price-supportive 300,000 bpd drop in U.S. oil production, to 11.6 million bpd.  But the data also showed a large and unexpected drop in refining activity that suggests demand for oil and fuel remains very soft.

Forex

The U.S. dollar strengthened against most major currencies, rising 0.3% against the euro, although it weakened 0.1% against the yen.
The WSJ Dollar Index settled 0.2% higher. Fed Chairman Powell said the US economic outlook is highly uncertain, subject to significant downside risks and that the
government needs to raise fiscal spending, although he says the Fed isn’t considering negative interest rates. The S&P 500 loses 1.7%, while 10-year Treasury yields sink to
around 0.64%.

European Markets

European sharemarkets fell on Wednesday in response to downbeat comments from the US central bank chief. The panEuropean STOXX 600 lost 1.9% with the German Dax index down 2.6% and the UK FTSE index down by 1.59%. In London trade shares of Rio Tinto were up by 0.5% while shares in BHP shares fell by 0.7%

Asian Markets