Asian stocks rose broadly on Wednesday as Fed rate cut hopes prevailed and U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was close to a trade deal with China.
The U.S. dollar struggled for direction after a measure of U.S. services sector activity slowed in July due to factors such as tariffs and global trade tensions.
Gold edged lower after four days of gains, while oil prices rose nearly 1 percent following four consecutive retreats.
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June 19, 2026 16:46 ET Major central banks continued to dominate the economic news flow this week too, led by the Federal Reserve, as they announced their latest policy decisions. The Federal Reserve policy session was in focus as it was the first to be led by the new chief Kevin Warsh. In Europe, central banks of the U.K. and Switzerland announced their rate decisions. In Asia, the Bank of Japan drew attention for its policy moves, while data out of China threw some light on the state of the economy.