Despite a positive German business sentiment report, concerns about the US economy and banking sector troubles were weighing on investor confidence on Wednesday. This led to stocks and the dollar remaining under pressure. However, interest in commodities like oil, gold, and industrial metals increased due to a weakening greenback. Deutsche Bank's warning about potential credit market issues affecting its profits in 2008, along with data showing declining US consumer confidence and a drop in new orders for US manufactured goods in February, kept investors on edge. As a result, Wall Street appeared poised to open lower with major stock index futures all in the red. Sean Maloney, a fixed-income strategist at Nomura in London, stated that there is still nervousness in the banking sector, and the recent announcement from Deutsche Bank was a reminder that JPMorgan increasing its bid for Bear Stearns does not solve all the problems for the financial sector. The news that JPMorgan had raised its takeover offer for Bear Stearns by fivefold earlier in the week had initially led to a rally in financial stocks globally and alleviated concerns about the sector facing a credit crunch. However, European shares saw a decline, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index dropping by 0.9 percent and Germany's DAX falling by 0.7 percent, particularly affected by a 2 percent decrease in Deutsche Bank's stock. London's FTSE 100 index also fell by 0.7 percent, mainly due to a nearly 7 percent drop in Swiss miner Xtrata following failed takeover negotiations with Vale, the world's largest iron ore miner. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei ended with a 0.3 percent decrease, while MSCI's measure of other Asian stock markets saw a 0.7 percent increase. MSCI's primary global equity index increased by 0.2 percent. The dollar weakened against other major currencies, with the dollar index dropping 0.8 percent due to ongoing worries about the US economy. On the other hand, positive data indicating an improvement in the German business climate index, based on a survey of approximately 7,000 companies, helped boost the euro. The euro climbed by about 0.7 percent to $1.5736 for the day, with additional support from comments by European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet, which were seen as suggesting no immediate interest rate cuts. Trichet, speaking before an economic committee of the European Parliament, stated that the ECB believes the current monetary policy will help maintain price stability in the medium term. US light crude for May delivery increased by $1.25 to $102.47, while gold saw a rise to $947.70 per ounce compared to around $934.60 per ounce in New York on Tuesday. Copper for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange was last traded at $8,155/tonne, up by 0.8 percent. Despite a bleak US outlook, global demand for various commodities is expected to remain strong, especially due to thriving economies like China. Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities Ltd in Tokyo, mentioned that the decline in the dollar has led to increased buying activity, although traders are cautious about taking large positions before the end of the quarter. Concerns about the US economy have also boosted demand for safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, with the benchmark 10-year yield falling by about 5 basis points to 3.457 percent. German 10-year bonds did not perform as well as US bonds, due to comments made by Trichet and new bond supply. The 10-year yield remained relatively stable at 3.887 percent.