ASX futures were down 54 points or 0.7 per cent at 7295 at 8.00 am AEST, interrupting a three-day run of gains in futures trading and indicating a weak start for the day. The S&P 500 dropped about 1.2 percent on Wednesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.3%.

The sentiment turned negative on Wednesday as global oil price hit US$120 for the first time in two weeks ahead of a closure of a key Russian pipeline for repairs. The lost supply is equivalent to about 1% of global demand and could take two months to repair, Russian officials said. Separately, President Vladimir Putin of Russia announced that the country will soon require “unfriendly countries” to pay for natural gas in roubles. Prices for natural gas in Europe closed higher on the news.

“The situation in Ukraine is going to keep markets on high alert,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, adding that volatility in energy prices would continue to loom large over indexes. “There’s still real pressure on oil price that’s fueling inflationary fears.”

S&P ASX/200 S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.5% higher at 7377.9 on Wednesday, boosted by tech stocks and shares of financial companies that stand to gain from higher interest rates.

Tech stocks in the S&P 500 followed a favorable lead from the Nasdaq Composite, which lagged the S&P 500 and DJIA on Tuesday. Block’s ASX-listed securities gained 7.5% to an all-time A$188.10, while WiseTech and Xero were up 2.1% and 4.2%, respectively.

Uniti shares jumped as much as 11% before going into a trading halt following media reports of another bidder coming for the telecoms services provider.

Banks ANZ, Westpac, Macquarie, Commonwealth and NAB which make up roughly 22% of the ASX 200 by market capitalisation added between 0.8% and 1.6%.

The only sector to lose ground was materials, which retreated 0.4% after five straight sessions of gains.

Santos said it had made a new oil discovery close to the Dorado field it is developing with Carnarvon Energy in Western Australia. Shares closed down 0.3%.

Australia’s big retail banks’ investors should expect increased share buybacks, Morgan Stanley said in a note on Wednesday. “We expect ANZ and NAB to announce new buybacks of A$1 billion and A$2 billion respectively at their 1H results in May,” the bank says.

Iron ore in commodity markets climbed 2.1% to US$146.45 per tonne; Brent Crude soared 5.2% to US$121.47; gold futures rose 0.8% to $1942.60.

US bond yields retraced gains that followed hawkish comments from Fed Chairman Powell on Monday. The US 10-Year Treasury Note yields ticked down to 2.29%. The yield on the 10-year Australian bond increased to 2.77%. Yields rise when prices fall.

The Australian surged to its highest since November 2021 and was fetching 74.98 US cents at 8.00am AEST, compared with the previous close of 74.69. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was up at 91.31.

Asia

Chinese stocks closed higher, thanks to property-management and telecom in propping up gains. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3%, and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.5%. The technology-oriented ChiNext Price Index was the top gainer, finishing 1.0% higher. Property-management companies built on robust gains from the previous session, as sentiment stayed positive after recent local policy easing and fundraising progress from some major developers. Telecom stocks provided additional support, with a 10% rise from ZTE, which confirmed its probation on a US monitor had formally ended.

Hong Kong shares finished higher, with its benchmark Hang Seng Index up 1.2%. Asian shares were lifted by overnight gains in US equity indexes, Oanda said, adding that “The Hang Seng has been lifted by China’s tech-heavyweight buyback fever.” The Hang Seng TECH Index gained 2.1%. Semiconductor stocks and Xiaomi Corp. were among the notable gainers, with shares of Xiaomi Corp. rising 4.1% after reporting a higher 4Q net profit. ZTE Corp. rose 23% after the company said a US court lifted its compliance probation.

Japanese stocks finished higher, led by big gains in electronics and technology stocks, as the yen sank to its weakest level in more than six years. Lasertec surged 10% and SoftBank Group gained 7.2%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 3.0% to its highest close since Jan. 2018. Investors are still fixating on the war in Ukraine as the Biden administration ready more sanctions on Moscow.

Europe

European markets declined as Wall Street retreated, with ongoing geopolitical tensions surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.1 percent, breaking a five-day winning streak.

A NATO meeting tomorrow (overnight Thursday Australia) is expected to sign off on massive boosts to its forces in eastern Europe and Ukraine is pushing back against advances by Russia in some parts of the country, reports said. “European markets have had a somewhat choppy session this morning, starting it on the front foot but then sliding back into the red as some modest profit-taking has come into play,”

In London, the FTSE 100 edged down on Wednesday after the close, finishing 0.2% lower as the UK Treasury chief Rishi Sunak delivered his Spring Statement in the country’s parliament.

“We are seeing modest losses for UK focused stocks such as house builders and consumer discretionary after disappointment with the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s downbeat assessment of the UK economy, with the Office for Budget Responsibility downgrading its outlook for 2022 and 2023,” CMC Markets said.

Russia’s stock market is poised to reopen partially Thursday, nearly a month after it shuttered trading following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Both investors and analysts view the reopening as a potential catalyst to send Russian stocks into free fall.

North America

US stocks slide and oil prices surged, as fears over higher energy costs, supply shortages and inflation gripped investors again.

The S&P 500 inched down about 1.2 percent on Wednesday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3 percent. The tech-centric Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.3%. Major US stock indexes soared Tuesday, as investors ignored concerns that rising inflation will tip the nation’s economy into a recession.

But some of that confidence dimmed on Wednesday after Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose again. Futures on Brent crude rose $6.12 a barrel, or 5.3 percent, at $121.60, the third highest settlement value of the year and the highest price since March 8. Brent crude has jumped 56% this year amid a global economy that has grown during the waning of the coronavirus pandemic as well as frets over supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Compounding those concerns on Wednesday: Russia said on Tuesday that oil shipments through the pipeline from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea could temporarily drop by about 1 million barrels a day about 1 percent of the world’s oil demand because of storm damage. The repairs could take as long as two months, Russian officials said.

“Everything is going to remain extremely sensitive to developments on the ground in Ukraine,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, adding that big swings in energy prices will continue to cast a long shadow over indexes. “There is still very real pressure on oil prices, which is attaching itself to inflationary concerns.”

Commodities were surging higher across the board on a variety of factors that threatened to put the squeeze on supply chains. Comex Copper rose 1.6% to $4.76 a pound, its fifth highest closing price ever, leaving it at 6.9% for the year.

Aluminium, nickel and steel also made gains on fears from the war in Ukraine to Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Tangshan, the largest steelmaking city in China, ordered residents to stay at home amid a surge of Covid-19 cases, Reuters reported. The city produces 58% of China's strip-steel, London commodity broker SP Angel said in a note on Wednesday.

Mr. Sandler said his firm began reducing his stockholdings earlier in the year as it considered risks to the United States and global economies to be higher and less predictable. The hope, he said, is that supply-chain issues that have driven up the price of everything from corn to copper will resolve themselves in the months ahead, meaning that the broader economy won’t require sharply higher fed-funds rates.

A sharp rise in US government bond yields faltered. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell to 2.320%, from 2.375% the previous day. Yields on United States government bonds surged this week after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the central bank was ready to lift interest rates in half-percentage-point increments if necessary to bring down inflation. Bond prices fall when yields rise.

Other signs of that emerged on Wednesday, as investors bided for what they viewed as safer assets. The ICE US Dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of others, gained 0.4% in recent trading. Gold prices advanced 0.8%.

In recent days, global markets appeared to have turned a corner, even as fears of surging inflation and the war in Ukraine persist. The S&P 500 climbed above its 200-day moving average on Tuesday after dipping below it on Feb. 17. The gauge has gained 1% or more in five of the past six sessions, lifting it 8.1% in that time and wiping out all the losses that occurred since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The recent rally has arrived amid Russia’s intensifying attacks on Ukraine, Western countries continuing to impose sanctions, and pricing pressures that show no sign of easing. On Wednesday, new data on inflation showed UK consumer prices climbing 6.2 percent in February from the same month last year, up from 5.5 percent in January, the highest rate since March 1992.

Fari Hamzei of Hamzei Analytics noted that the recent bounce in stocks occurred on low volume, which is a sign that it could be a so-called bear-market rally. What he wants to see is several days of large declines where 90 percent of New York Stock exchange stocks fall, which would signal him to buy.

An abrupt surge in oil prices could provide the catalyst for such a drop. Mr. Hamzei sees WTI, which traded at about $114 a barrel Wednesday, jump to as high as $135 or $145 a barrel. Another major escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, he said, could also send investors fleeing from stocks.

Shares of energy companies also rose in afternoon trading in New York. Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose about 1.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

Higher oil prices could also create a greater interest among consumers in electric vehicles if the cost of sitting in traffic becomes even higher, analysts said. Tesla shares were 0.5% higher. The shares have gained in every one of the past seven trading days, its longest streak of consecutive gains since August 2021, and has the EV maker up by more than 30% in that time frame.

By contrast, meme stock shares, many of which have slumped in 2023, got a much-needed lift. Shares of GameStop jumped nearly 15% after its chairman, Ryan Cohen, revealed his firm purchased 100,000 shares of GameStop’s shares on Tuesday. Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings, which move in lock step with GameStop, rose 14%.

Shares of Adobe slumped 9.3%. The software company said its profit rose while its revenue grew faster than analysts had projected on Tuesday, but warned that the war in Ukraine will hurt annual revenue.