An unexpectedly positive business sentiment report from Germany boosted the euro and European stocks on Wednesday, while concerns about the US economy continued to weigh on the dollar. The weakening dollar led to increased interest in commodities like oil and gold, which had recently experienced declines. Despite a softer outlook for the US, global demand for commodities is expected to remain strong due to robust economies like China. The Ifo institute's report showed an improvement in German corporate sentiment in March, with firms expressing a more optimistic view of the economic situation, helping to alleviate some of the pessimism surrounding the global economy. Audrey Childe Freeman, European economist at CIBC World Markets, noted that this was the third consecutive month that the Ifo report had exceeded expectations. She mentioned that the data supports the idea of Germany and the euro zone becoming more independent from each other, and also suggests that the European Central Bank will not be lowering interest rates in the near future. The Ifo economic research institute reported that its business climate index increased to 104.8 from 104.1 in February, which reduced investors' inclination to seek safety and caused euro zone government bonds to decrease in value. This news followed reports of a decrease in US consumer confidence and a significant drop in home values, indicating that Americans may be starting to spend less. In response to this information, the FTSEurofirst 300 index initially went up before eventually dropping 0.2 percent, with Germany's DAX remaining steady and London's FTSE 100 index declining by 0.3 percent. Swiss miner Xtrata experienced a significant decrease in value, losing approximately 9 percent, following the breakdown of takeover discussions with Vale, the largest iron ore miner in the world. The previous day, European stocks had increased by about 3 percent, led by banks, after JPMorgan dramatically increased its offer to acquire Bear Stearns, alleviating concerns in a sector impacted by the credit crisis. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index closed 0.3 percent lower, while MSCI's index of other Asian stock markets rose by 0.6 percent. The MSCI world equity index saw a slight increase of 0.2 percent. The dollar weakened against major currencies, facing challenges due to ongoing worries about the US economy's health. The dollar index decreased by 0.6 percent, leading to a rise in the euro by half a US cent to approximately $1.5646 following the Ifo report. The 10-year Bund yield remained relatively stable at 3.872 percent, while the 10-year yield for US Treasuries decreased by 2.4 basis points to 3.517 percent. US light crude for May delivery increased by 73 cents to $101.94, and the price of gold slightly rose to $940.50 per ounce from around $934.60 per ounce at the end of trading in New York on Tuesday.