I. Yesterday's News
1. In his first news conference since the Nov. 8 election, President-elect Donald Trump accused U.S. spy agencies of practices reminiscent of Nazi Germany, but disappointed dollar bulls as he did not elaborate on his economic policy agenda. The Republican said leaks from the intelligence community led to some U.S. media outlets reporting unsubstantiated claims that he was caught in a compromising position in Russia. For the first time, Trump acknowledged that Russia likely hacked the Democratic National Committee and the emails of top Democrats during the 2016 presidential election. U.S. Treasury debt yields fell, U.S. stocks ended higher, the dollar index fell to a one-month low, while oil and gold closed up after the news conference. Trump said on Wednesday he would maintain ownership of his global business empire but hand off control to his two oldest sons while president, an arrangement that watchdogs said would not prevent conflicts of interest in the White House. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said pharmaceutical companies are "getting away with murder" in what they charge the government for medicines, and promised that would change, sending drugs stocks sharply lower.

2. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday that Britain's giant financial services sector could be undermined like a wobbly wooden tower in the popular game of Jenga if key parts of the industry move elsewhere because of Brexit. Carney told lawmakers he agreed with comments made this week by the chairman of bank HSBC, who compared the City of London with Jenga which involves players trying to avoid the collapse of a tower as they remove wooden pieces one by one. But Carney said the scale of Britain's financial services industry did not make it immune to the consequences of key parts of the sector moving away which could happen as a result of the country's referendum vote in June to leave the European Union.

3. British industrial output rebounded in November, helped by a recovery in oil and gas, adding to signs that the economy kept its momentum in late 2016 despite June's shock Brexit vote. But Britain's trade performance deteriorated on the month, as a record value of goods imports outweighed exports which also hit an all-time high, showing the pound's drop since the referendum has yet to improve Britain's balance of trade. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that industrial output rose 2.1 percent in November alone, recovering from a 1.1 percent drop in October and beating expectations for a 0.8 percent jump in a Reuters poll of economists. Separate figures from the ONS showed Britain's goods trade deficit with the rest of the world widened to 12.2 billion pounds in November, bigger than all forecasts in the poll. Sterling tipped below $1.21 for the first time since Oct. 25 despite the strong data, as markets continued to worry that Britain will end up with a poor deal after its divorce from the European Union. Britain's economy likely expanded by 0.5 percent in the final three months of last year, slowing slightly from the third quarter, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said on Wednesday. It estimated Britain's economy grew 2.0 percent in 2016 compared with 2.2 percent during the previous year.

4. Brazil surprised markets with a larger-than-expected interest rate cut on Wednesday, stepping up its monetary easing to revive an economy mired in its worst recession ever. In a unanimous vote, the central bank's nine-member monetary policy committee, known as Copom, decided to cut its benchmark Selic rate by 75 basis points to 13.00 percent after two straight cuts of 25 basis-points each. An overwhelming majority of analysts had expected a rate cut of 50 basis points with only a few predicting a more aggressive cut that brought rates to a near two-year low.

5. China's central bank launched spot checks on leading bitcoin exchanges in Beijing and Shanghai. The Shanghai arm of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said the probe of bitcoin exchanges BTCC, OKCoin, etc, jointly by the central bank, Shanghai Financial Services Office and other agencies was to look into a range of possible rule violations, including money laundering, to prevent possible market risks.

II. Market Overview
FX
The U.S. dollar fell to a one-month low against a basket of major rivals on Wednesday, reversing an early rally after a news conference held by President-elect Donald Trump disappointed dollar bulls who were expecting a pro-growth message. The dollar index, which hit a one-week high before the conference of 102.950, sank to its lowest since Dec. 14 at 101.280 after it had ended. The index pared losses later in afternoon U.S. trading and was last down 0.15 percent at 101.860. The euro rose as much as 0.6 percent against the dollar after the conference to a session high of $1.0622. The dollar sank about 1.3 percent against the yen to a one-month low of 114.26 yen. Sterling, which had fallen more than 1 percent to a three-month low of $1.2038 before Trump's comments, later rallied 0.8 percent to $1.2273. The Mexican peso hit a fresh record low against the dollar of 22.0440 pesos, marking an exception to the broad dollar weakness after Trump warned U.S. auto companies would face a high tax for products made south of the border.

Precious Metals
Gold rose to a seven-week high on Wednesday, turning positive as the dollar dropped and Treasury yields fell after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke in his first formal news conference. Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,191.26 an ounce after a choppy session that traded from $1,176.94 to $1,198.40, the highest since Nov. 23. U.S. gold futures settled up $11.1, or 0.94 percent, at $1,196.6 per ounce.

Commodities
1.Crude Oil
Oil prices jumped more than 2.5 percent on Wednesday, their biggest daily rise in more than a month, lifted as the U.S. dollar weakened following a news conference by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and on news that Saudi Arabia cut exports to Asia. Brent futures rose $1.46, or 2.7 percent, at $55.10 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.43, or 2.8 percent, to $52.25 per barrel. Both contracts notched their biggest daily percentage gains since Dec. 1.

2. Base Metals
Copper slipped on Wednesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump gave little guidance on new infrastructure spending at a press conference in New York, disappointing some who had hoped for a clearer view on policy. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed down 0.8 percent at $5,714 a tonne on Wednesday, off an earlier peak of $5,788.50, its highest since Dec. 13.

U.S. Treasuries
U.S. Treasury debt yields fell on Wednesday with benchmark yields briefly touching the lowest in a month following stellar demand at a 10-year note sale, while President-elect Donald Trump's remarks spurred safe-haven demand for bonds. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 0.5 basis point at 2.374 percent. It traded as low as 2.329 percent, which was the lowest since Nov. 30, following the 10-year note auction, part of this week's $56 billion in longer-dated government debt supply. The 30-year bond yield fell to a near two-month low of 2.926 percent before retracing to 2.961 percent, down 1 basis point on the day.

Stock Market
1. U.S. Equities
U.S. stocks ended higher after a choppy day on Wednesday as energy and technology gains countered a drop in healthcare stocks after President-elect Donald Trump said pharmaceutical companies were charging high prices, ending a six-day winning streak for the healthcare index. The Nasdaq ended the day with another record closing high after falling as much as 0.5 percent after Trump's first formal news conference since the Nov. 8 election. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 98.75 points, or 0.5 percent, to 19,954.28, the S&P 500 gained 6.42 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,275.32 and the Nasdaq Composite added 11.83 points, or 0.21 percent, to 5,563.65.

2. Hong Kong Equities
Hong Kong stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Wednesday to hit fresh one-month highs as investors awaited U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's news conference later in the day for clues which may set the tone for global markets. The benchmark Hang Seng index ended up 0.8 percent at 22,935.35 points. while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent to 9,733.90.