Global FX DATA:

• • • ASIAN MARKET
      
      Asian share markets were trying to find their footing on Wednesday as a semblance of calm returned to Wall Street where major indices bounced into the black after days of deep losses.
       
    • GOLD
      
      Gold prices rose in Asia on Wednesday with a slightly weaker dollar aiding sentiment.Overnight, gold prices fell to three-week lows as the dollar moved off lows shrugging off weaker economic data.The dollar moved off session lows, pressuring gold prices despite a pair of bearish reports pointing to weakness in the economy.
  •  
    • OIL
      
      Oil prices rose on Wednesday amid a share market recovery and supported by a report that US Crude inventories fell last week, although analysts warned that soaring U.S. output and a seasonal demand drop could soon weigh on crude.
       
    • NORTH KOREA
      
      A group of 280 North Koreans arrived in South Korea on Wednesday, one of the largest peacetime crossings of the inter-Korean border, to spur on athletes from the two Koreas at the Winter Olympics starting Friday.
       
    • DOLLAR
      
      The dollar steadied against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as calm returned to global financial markets with investors partially reversing their rush to safe haven assets and moving back into stocks.
       
    • CRYPTOCURRENCY
      
      Digital currency bitcoin fell more than 15 percent  to a nearly three-month low amid a slew of concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban on using credit cards to buy bitcoin by British and U.S. banks.
       
    • NEW YORK
      
      A New York City man was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to aid Islamic State and assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.

    • US
      
      The 4.5 percent drop in the benchmark S&P 500 over the last five days has not dented strategists’ expectations for mild to moderate gains in the U.S. stock market by the end of the year, with corporate earnings and interest rates not expected to derail equities.

    • CHINA
      
      China’s growing throng of affluent consumers is driving a rebound in demand for gold rings, bracelets and necklaces as a property boom and high stock market valuations boost wealth in the largest bullion market.

    • JAPAN
      
      Wages of Japanese workers fell in December at their fastest pace in five months, in a possible sign that consumers could cut back on spending and further complicate the central bank’s quest to reach its 2 percent inflation target.