Bethany Sullivan

Japan's services sector activity continued its steady growth in November, driven by a faster rise in new orders and increased business confidence, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday.

Wall Street index futures steadied on Tuesday evening after increasing conviction in a December interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve spurred strong gains during the main session.

Markets are bracing for the release of September Jobs data from the US now that the US Government shutdown has come to an end. The report comes at a time when US rate cut expectations have fallen significantly since the Fed's October meeting thanks in part to a hawkish Jerome Powell and the lack of official Government data.

The Federal Reserve remains divided ahead of its December meeting, but this is unlikely to force the central bank to hit the brakes on another rate cut, Standard Chartered says, warning that expected softening in the labor market will continue to steer monetary policy.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller supports a 25 basis point rate cut at the December 9-10 FOMC meeting, citing weakness in the U.S. labor market.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will meet CEOs from top insurers in Downing Street on Wednesday, as she seeks to encourage more investment in the City ahead of a tricky budget later this month.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars held still on Thursday as the threat of a new round of U.S.-China trade restrictions curbed risk sentiment ahead of a key reading on U.S. inflation.

Though the U.S. government remains shut down, the Senate is a hive of crypto activity this week, with Republican lawmakers now matching a planned Democrat meeting with industry leaders set for Wednesday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the yen will settle at an appropriate level if the Bank of Japan continues to conduct the right monetary policy, Japanese media reported, citing a group interview.