I. Yesterday's News
International News
1. The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter, notching its quickest pace in more than two years, and there are signs that the momentum was sustained at the start of the third quarter. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 percent annual rate in the April-June period. The upward revision from the 2.6 percent pace reported last month reflected robust consumer spending as well as strong business investment. Economists had expected that second-quarter GDP growth would be raised to a 2.7 percent rate. Other data on Wednesday showed private employers ramped up hiring in August, adding 237,000 jobs to their payrolls. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies on the upbeat reports, while prices for U.S. Treasuries fell. Stocks on Wall Street were almost flat.

2. Tropical Storm Harvey inflicted more damage on the heart of the U.S. energy industry on Wednesday, churning into Louisiana after flooding the biggest U.S. refinery in Texas, causing energy shortage and surging gasoline prices across the country for weeks. Refinery damage from Harvey has driven gasoline futures prices up 18 percent over the past week, and prices at the pump are rising too, particularly in the U.S. South. More refineries could close now that Harvey has made landfall in Louisiana.

3. President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared "talking is not the answer" to the tense standoff with North Korea over its nuclear missile development, but his defense chief swiftly asserted that diplomatic options remain, and Russia demanded U.S. Restraint. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States to refrain from any military action on the Korean peninsula that would be "fraught with unpredictable consequences," Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

4. U.S. President Donald Trump turned his populist rhetoric to tax reform on Wednesday, calling for "pro-American" business tax cuts as a way to create jobs and telling Congress that it needs to deliver. Trump called on Democrats to join his tax overhaul effort, which he said would also cut taxes and simplify the sprawling U.S. tax code for the middle class. Trump reiterated his longstanding call for slashing U.S. corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent at a time when lawmakers believe they could be lucky to bring it down to 25 percent.

Domestic News
5. The Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development have jointly issued a document encouraging the use of collectively owned land to build rental housing in 13 major cities, in order to increase the supply of rental housing and ease the housing shortage in urban areas.

6. At the end of July, housing inventory in 80 cities had dropped 11.1% year-on-year to 402.11 million square meters, according to a report prepared by the property information and service provider E-house. Inventories were down 0.5% month-on-month in July, E-house said in a report released Tuesday. "The current inventory size is equal to the level in September 2013," E-house said.

7. China's banking regulator said in a statement that China will build a unified trust registration system to cut fraud risks in trust products and the country's "chaotic" financial markets, and to regulate financial order.

II. Market Overview
FX
1. Global Market
The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Wednesday on speculation the European Central Bank could step in to weaken the euro and after strong U.S. economic data boosted expectations for a solid U.S. jobs report on Friday. The euro was on track for its biggest daily percentage drop against the dollar in nearly four weeks, of about 0.7 percent, putting it back below $1.20 after touching a more than 2-1/2-year high of $1.2069 Tuesday . It last traded at $1.1890. The dollar touched a two-week high against the yen of 110.43 yen after the U.S. data, rising further off a 4-1/2-month low of 108.25 struck Tuesday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.7 percent at 92.879 after temporarily hitting a more than 2-1/2-year low of 91.621 Tuesday.

2. Home Market
China's yuan and the official yuan midpoint surged to a 14-month high against the dollar in the morning session. The imbalance in forext settlement was accelerated on shrinking demand for forex after recent sharp gains in yuan. The Chinese currency is expected to remain strong unless under the guidance of regulators.

Precious Metals
Gold steadied on Wednesday, as a stronger dollar pushed the metal off Tuesday's 9-1/2-month high, but the precious metal remained above $1,300 on renewed tensions between Washington and North Korea. Spot gold slipped to $1,308.36 an ounce. On Tuesday, the price jumped to $1,325.94, the highest since Trump was elected U.S. president. It was on track to close August up by around 3 percent, its second straight monthly gain. COMEX gold futures settled down 0.4 percent at $1,314.10.

Commodities
1.Crude Oil
Gasoline futures surged on Wednesday to a two-year high while crude oil was down, as flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Harvey shut nearly a quarter of U.S. refinery capacity, curbing demand for crude while raising the risk of fuel shortages. U.S. gasoline futures were up 5.9 percent to settle at 1.8847 a gallon, having hit $1.9140, the highest since July 2015. Brent oil, the international crude benchmark, settled down $1.14, or 2.2 percent, to $50.86 a barrel. U.S. crude settled down 48 cents, or 1 percent, to $45.96.

2.Base Metals
Nickel prices retreated on Wednesday, but held near nine-month highs due to healthy demand from China's stainless steel mills and falling supplies from the Philippines, a top ore exporter, supporting sentiment. Benchmark nickel ended down one percent at $11,595 a tonne as a failure to break higher triggered a bout of profit-taking. Copper fell 0.3 percent to $6,769 a tonne, aluminium slipped 0.4 percent to $2,087.5, zinc gained 0.4 percent to $3,096, lead ceded 0.4 percent to $2,370 and tin gained 1.2 percent to $20,600.

U.S. Treasuries
1. U.S. Bonds
U.S. Treasury yields held near nine-month lows on Wednesday as concerns about rising tensions with North Korea kept a bid for the bonds, and offset data that showed solid economic momentum. The 10-year notes were last down 3/32 in price to yield 2.145 percent, up from 2.136 percent on Tuesday.

2. Chinese bonds
The cash bond yields in China's interbank market edged up in the morning session, while T-bonds trading in a tight range. Market sentiment remained cautious amid concerns over the central bank operations due to tight liquidity and net currency withdrawal from circulation.

Stock Market
1. U.S. Equities
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth outweighed concerns about escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea and uncertainty in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27.06 points, or 0.12 percent, to end at 21,892.43, the S&P 500 gained 11.29 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,457.59 and the Nasdaq Composite added 66.42 points, or 1.05 percent, to 6,368.31.

2. Hong Kong Equities
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index closed above 28,000 points for the first time since May, 2015 on Wednesday, helped by easing geopolitical tensions as well as signs mainland money continues to flow steadily into the city's bourse. The Hang Seng index rose 1.2 percent, to 28,094.61, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.7 percent, to 11,374.46 points.

3. China Equities
China's stocks inched down on Wednesday, snapping a three-day wining streak. Major indexes lingered at highs, retreating into negative territory late in the session. While nonferrous metals, coal and steel sector bucked the trend, remaining strong. The market is expected to build upward momentum on bullish sentiment after breaching over 3,300. The Shanghai Composite Index settled at 3,363.63, down 1.6 points or 0.05 percent.