US durable goods orders rose by 2.2pct in February following a 3.6pct decline in January. Economists had tipped a 3pct gain. Excluding transport goods, orders rose by 1.6pct while ex defence orders rose by 1.7pct - basically in line with expectations.

Italy auctioned 8.5 billion euros of 182-day Treasury bills at 1.119pct - the lowest rate in more than a year.

European shares fell to three-week lows on Wednesday in a choppy session, with investors disappointed by softer-than-expected US data. Investors also continued to book profits ahead of the end of the quarter. The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 1.0pct with the German Dax down 1.1pct and the UK FTSE was down by 1.0pct. Miners fell with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton down 2.1pct in London trade.

US sharemarkets fell again on Wednesday as investors continued to book profits ahead of the end of the quarter. Weaker-than-expected economic data added to the negative tone. And energy and materials stocks fell in line with a lower commodity prices. Shares in Caterpillar fell by 3.8pct. At the US close the Dow Jones was down by 72pts or 0.54pct with the S&P 500 down by 0.5pct and the Nasdaq eased 15pts or 0.5pct.

US treasuries were little changed on Wednesday. Investors trimmed demand for equities but the movement into bonds was balanced by a weaker-than-expected $35 billion auction of five-year notes. US 2yr yields rose by 1pt to 0.34pct and US 10yr yields were up 1pt to 2.19pct.

The US dollar lifted against the Euro and commodity currencies in European and US trade on Wednesday. The Euro eased from highs around US$1.3370 to US$1.3285, and was near US$1.3320 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar eased from highs around US104.45c to US103.50c and was US103.85c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen traded between 82.62 yen per US dollar and JPY83.16 and was near JPY82.80 in late US trade.

Benchmark crude oil prices fell on Wednesday in response to a firmer US dollar and higher US oil inventories. US crude stocks rose by 7.1 million barrels last week, more than forecast. Also a French newspaper claimed a number of governments, including the US, were preparing to release oil from strategic stocks. The US Nymex fell by US$1.92 or 1.8pct to US$105.41 a barrel while London Brent crude fell by US$1.38 to US$124.16 a barrel.

Base metal prices fell on Tuesday as the greenback rose and US economic data printed below expectations. Metals fell up to 2.3pct although lead bucked the trend, up 0.2pct. Meanwhile the gold price fell in line with other commodities with the April Comex gold price down by US$27.00 or 1.6pct to US$1,657.90 an ounce.

Ahead: In Australia, population data is released together with job vacancies and the Financial Accounts. In the US, weekly jobless claims data is released together with revised GDP figures.