TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Asian equities slipped on Wednesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve’s guidance on its monetary policy while futures for U.S. tech shares jumped after strong earnings from Microsoft.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar was trapped on the back foot against major peers on Wednesday as markets wait on comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is likely to renew a commitment to ultra-easy policy.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed on Wednesday after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week and China, the world’s second-biggest oil user, reported its lowest daily rise in COVID-19 cases, bolstering hopes of a pick-up in demand.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Profits at China’s industrial firms grew for the eighth straight month in December, suggesting a sustained recovery as the manufacturing sector rapidly emerged from its COVID-19 slump.

Fitch Ratings-Shanghai-25 January 2021: Stronger-than-expected sales of passenger new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in 4Q20 helped China's passenger vehicle market to continue to recover, Fitch Ratings says in a new report.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world economy is expected to make a modest recovery of 4.7 percent this year after shrinking 4.3 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic - more than double the impact of the global financial crisis in 2009 - the United Nations said on Monday.