A relatively quiet Wednesday as far as announcements go, with data emanating from China coming into focus. Geo-political events may play a role in market fluctuations.

The EUR/USD pair was on a bit of a roller coaster overnight as it dropped down to around $1.1558. It has since bounced back and broken back into $1.16 territory, where it currently sits at $1.1605. Whether $1.16 becomes a new support level remains to be seen. The pound continues to recover against a basket of currencies, but is flat against the USD compared to this time yesterday. The GBP/USD pair is currently trading at $1.3172.

US stocks were a mixed bag overnight, but with plenty of wild swings in between. The Dow touched 23,600 before pulling back a bit and closing at 23,557.23, up 8.81 points (+0.04%). The S&P 500 ended relatively flat, shaving 0.49 points (-0.02%) to close at 2,590.64, while the NASDAQ dropped 18.65 points (-0.27%) to end the session at 6,767.78. European stocks all finished lower overnight, the FTSE losing 49.17 points (-0.65%) to close at 7,513.11, while the DAX dropped 89.52 points (-0.66%) to close at 13,379.27.

Turning to today’s events and the focus for markets is the Trade Balance data that is being released by China. As the Chinese economy continues to grow, it needs to feed that growth by importing goods from around the world. Many smaller economies rely on this growth to prop up their own bottom lines. They are also releasing USD-Denominated Trade Balance data. Other data set for release tonight and in the early hours of tomorrow morning include:

Japan – Leading Indicators

Europe – French Trade Balance

US – Crude Oil Inventories

Canada – Housing Starts, Building Permits

New Zealand – Official Cash Rate, RBNZ Rate Statement