Stocks in Asia meandered and U.S. equity futures rose after a mixed bag of data on China’s economy that followed a topsy-turvy session for U.S. shares. Oil steadied after its unprecedented slump, while the pound advanced.

Japanese stocks outperformed after steep losses on Tuesday, while shares edged lower in Hong Kong and China and fell in Australia. Earlier, U.S. equities ended lower as a surge in optimism over trade talks with China was offset by the plunging crude price, which dropped more than 7 percent Tuesday. The pound extended gains amid optimism the U.K. and the European Union have agreed upon a draft Brexit divorce deal. Treasury yields ticked higher and the dollar remained near an 18-month high.

Risk appetite had built Tuesday morning in the U.S. after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that the U.S. and China are talking on “all levels” of government. That followed an overnight report that China’s Vice Premier Liu He will pave the way for a meeting between the leaders of the two biggest economies later this month. Meanwhile, the Trump administration was said to be holding off for now on imposing new tariffs on automobile imports.

Focus now turns to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who speaks Wednesday, with some observers expecting him to calm worries about the central bank pushing its interest rate-hike cycle too far. That comes after the latest read on China’s economy, where retail sales missed estimates, though industrial production held up.

Italian assets are back in focus after its government stuck to forecasts for a 2.4 percent budget deficit and 1.5 percent growth target for next year. The move pushes aside attempts by Finance Minister Giovanni Tria to placate the European Commission, which had demanded changes to ease concerns about excessive spending and overly optimistic growth estimates.

Elsewhere, the pound extended gains following a report that key ministers will back U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft Brexit agreement after months of negotiations.

Terminal users can read more in our Markets Live blog.

Coming Up

Fed’s Powell discusses national and global economic issues with Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan at an event hosted by the Dallas Fed. U.S. consumer inflation probably rebounded in October after easing in September. The consumer price index data is projected to show a 0.3 percent increase from the prior month. Policy decisions are coming from central banks in Mexico, Philippines, and Thailand.These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

Japan’s Topix index added 0.4 percent as of 11:06 a.m. in Tokyo. Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.1 percent, led by energy shares. Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.2 percent.

Currencies

The yen ticked lower to 113.94 per dollar. The offshore yuan held at 6.9473 per dollar. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.1 percent. The euro gained 0.1 percent to $1.1307. The pound gained 0.3 percent to $1.3012.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 3.15 percent.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude was stable at $55.51 a barrel, after sliding 7.1 percent to an 11-month low. Gold futures added 0.2 percent to $1,204.43 an ounce.