$A nears 74 US cents

Jobless claims data will also be released and should be a small bright spot, with only 269,000 new claims last week. That lines him up with fellow Governor Lael Brainard, who made the case on Monday for patience, and diverges from the majority of Federal Open Market Committee members including Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

Also on Wednesday, the Fed’s Beige Book showed the US economy grew at a modest pace, keeping alive hopes that the USA central bank is on track to eventually raise interest rates for the first time since 2006. Exports fell 3.7 percent, which was less than expected.

Canada’s Harper says no plans for major change to inflation mandate.

A few think Malaysia’s currency may find support.

Asian shares stepped back from two-month highs on profit-taking on Tuesday and oil prices regrouped after Monday’s big fall, while the dollar was on the defensive as expectations of an imminent US rate hike receded. Confidence was given a lift at the start of the month by a report indicating the country’s key manufacturing sector saw a slight improvement in September. The data was not enough to suggest a greater risk of a hard landing, but it did feed expectations that Beijing will soon add to stimulus measures. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 1.27 region. Trading ranged from $1,153.3-1,164.1 so far. It hit a seven-week low of 93.845. It hit its highest in almost three weeks against the dollar in early trade after SABMiller (SAB.L) accepted a takeover proposal from Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), in a deal worth 69 billion pounds.

The euro stood at $1.1479 after edging up as high as $1.1491 earlier, its highest since August 26. The gauge earlier touched the lowest level since June 30.

Malaysia’s ringgit led an advance in Asian currencies as odds of a U.S. interest-rate increase this year diminished further, giving a reprieve to emerging-market assets.

Before then, an eight-day rally was fuelled by gains in commodity producers and optimism the Fed won’t raise rates.

The Indonesian benchmark – Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index rebounded ahead of its central bank’s policy meeting and was up by 0.88% at 4,522.44. Goldman Sachs shares rose 2.4 percent even after it missed expectations. The index fell 1.1 percent in the 12 months through September, its eighth straight month decrease.

Instead, investors have focused on soft economic data, especially after weak USA jobs numbers last month, and the Fed’s own concerns about global economic growth.

Economic data from Group of 10 nations are missing analysts’ estimates by the most in four months, according to a Citigroup index, including weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales, and slowdowns in Japan, China, the United Kingdom and Germany. While Treasuries declined, the 10-year note yield was below two per cent.

USA gold futures for December delivery settled up 90 cents an ounce at $1,165.40.

JPMorgan and Intel are set to report their earnings after the market close.

U.S. crude CLc1 was down 0.3 percent at $46.51 a barrel, although a weaker dollar helped slow its decline. The EconoTimes content received through this service is the intellectual property of EconoTimes or its third party suppliers.