Asian, European Stocks Lower Ahead Of FOMC Minutes

Asian stocks were mostly lower on Wednesday following reports that the U.S. Federal Reserve is said to be moving towards rate hikes this year. Meanwhile, Japan surprised the market and said that its economy grew at an annualized 1.7 percent during the January to March period and grew by 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis. Analysts were expecting a mere 0.1 percent quarterly gain. Japan's Nikkei index lost 0.05 percent.

Chinese stocks also fell to their lowest level in 2 months after President Xi Jinpig said that the country will proceed with plans to cut capacity at state-owned enterprises. Accordingly, China's Shanghai index fell 1.27 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 1.45 percent while India's Mumbai Sensex index lost 0.27 percent. Taiwan's TSEC index gained 0.24 percent. European stocks were also mostly lower with more than 4 hours of trading remaining as mining stocks saw notable declines on a rising US dollar. The UK's FTSE index was lower by 0.46 percent, France's CAC index shed 0.33 percent and Germany's DAX lost 0.20 percent. Oil prices dipped lower Wednesday morning as both Brent and WTI crude oil futures stayed below the $50 per barrel mark.