21 February 2017
Oil prices held near multi-week highs on Wednesday after OPEC signaled optimism over its deal with other producers to curb output to clear a glut that has weighed on markets since 2014.

Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, joining a record-setting session for global markets as investors cheered upbeat factory activity in Europe and solid earnings on Wall Street.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose, taking its cues from the world stock index rising to an all-time peak of 446.21 overnight.

European equities were boosted by upbeat German and French factory activity data, with Germany's DAX rising to its highest in nearly two years.

Dubai's stock market fell on Tuesday, breaking technical support as construction firm Arabtec continued to slide, while Egypt rebounded from a drop triggered by foreign investors' selling.

The dollar edged down in Asian trading on Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting for clues as to the pace of interest rate hikes, while the euro nursed losses and remained pressured by European political woes.

Gold held firm on Wednesday after falling as much as 1 percent the session before, with investors waiting for minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting for clues on the timing of interest rate hikes. 

In the latest news, Iraq needs oil prices to reach $60 per barrel to plug its public deficit gap, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Iran announced Tuesday it will begin selling 100,000 barrels of oil a day to Russia within the next 15 days and receive payment half in cash and half in goods and services, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday the chance the central bank will deepen negative interest rates is low for now, backing market expectations that no additional monetary easing is forthcoming in the near future.

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