Here are the 5 most important things to know for today.
1. Crude jumps 6% on expectations of OPEC deal
Oil registered gains of more than 6% on Wednesday, amid growing optimism that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be able to reach an agreement on a deal to curb output later in the day.
As OPEC gathered in Vienna on Wednesday to finalize details on how the cartel would distribute cuts in production that were agreed in the September Algiers accord, officials from both Iran and Iraq declared that a deal would be reached, sparking gains in black gold.
Saudi Arabia had recently been butting heads with its two closest rivals Iraq and Iran over individual quotas, but the parties appeared optimistic ahead of the final meeting.
OPEC was expected to release a communiqué on the deal with a press conference tentatively scheduled for 15:00GMT.
With the focus on OPEC, it should be remembered that the U.S. will also release its weekly crude inventories at 15:30GMT with expectations pointing to a build of 636,000 barrels.
Data out Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a surprise draw of 717,000 barrels, compared to expectations for a 577,000 build.
However, API reported a huge build of 2.3 million barrels at the key Cushing hub, blasting past forecast for an increase of just 26,000.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil futures soared 6.396% to $48.12 at 11:01GMT, while Brent oil jumped 6.93% to $50.60.
2. U.S. prepares for a series of data
With global markets eyes on crude, the U.S. was also set to release a deluge of data on Wednesday.
Investors would likely focus on the ADP employment change data to try and wring out indications for the government’s official publication of nonfarm payrolls on Friday.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) will also likely be watching the publication of its favorite inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, along with releasing its Beige Book that shows the state of the economy in the 12 Fed districts.
In other reports of note, investors will digest October personal income & spending, the Chicago PMI for November and October pending home sales.
3. Markets watch USD and Gold
Along with the data deluge, market participants will also keep an eye on several appearances from monetary policy officials on Wednesday including, Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan, Fed governor Jerome Powell and the head of the Cleveland Fed Loretta Mester.
Odds for a Fed rate hike at the December 13-14 meeting continued to hover near 100% on Wednesday.
Markets were further pricing in a 54% chance of a second rate increase at the June 2007 meeting.
Gold prices slid on Wednesday as the dollar pushed higher after upbeat U.S. economic reports on Tuesday supported the case for higher interest rates.
Gold was trading down 0.16% at $1,188.95 a troy ounce by 11:02GMT.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.14% at 101.12, holding below the almost 14-year highs of 102.07 reached last Thursday.
4. RBS tumbles 4% after failing BoE bank stress tests
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) tumbled around 4% on Wednesday, among the biggest decliners on London’s FTSE 100.
That was after the Bank of England (BoE) determined that the bank had failed this year’s stress tests and would need to bolster capital.
Competitors Barclays (LON:BARC) also missed some targets but had already taken steps to strengthen its balance sheet, while Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) failed some of the parameters but the BoE decided no further measures were needed.
This year's health check, the third so far by the BoE since the 2007-09 financial crisis forced taxpayers to bail out lenders like RBS, was deemed to be the most difficult analysis to date.
5. Eurozone CPI hits 2 and a half year high
In a report released Wednesday, Eurostat said the consumer price inflation in the euro zone rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% this month, in line with forecasts and following a final reading of a 0.5% advance in October. That was the biggest increase since April 2014.
Even with core inflation at 0.8%, price increases remain far below the European Central Bank’s (ECB) target of 2%.
The ECB will hold its next monetary policy meeting on December 8 and is widely expected to announce the extension of its asset purchase program, which is currently scheduled to end in March 2017, as it seeks to push inflation towards its 2% goal.
ECB president Mario Draghi is scheduled to give a keynote speech at the 100th anniversary of the University of Deusto Business School in Madrid, Spain at 12:45GMT.
However, n testimony given yesterday to the European Parliament and in an interview given to the Spanish newspaper El País on Wednesday, he had already refused to give further hints on possible policy moves at the next meeting.
“This is for the Governing Council to decide and it will do so on December 8,” Draghi said.