Recap: Global Markets Take Another Wild Ride

Global markets turned in another wild day on Wednesday.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite closed down 1.3% after a volatile day of trading, in the first chance that market had to react to the rate cut by the central bankers in Beijing. European stocks posted sharp losses at the open before recovering somewhat. Then all eyes turned to the U.S., where stocks started strong, seemed to stutter at mid-day, and then took off for the moon.

In the end? It was the third-biggest one-day point gain for the Dow industrials in history.

We tracked markets in real time from the Asian open to the rollicking U.S. close. Here's how it all went down.

4:33 pm | Thanks for joining us | by Erik Holm

And with that, we're going to call it a day. Thanks for joining us.

4:31 pm | Big day for the S&P 500, too | by Paul Vigna

It wasn't quite as historic a day for the S&P 500, but it was still a big day, the biggest one-day point gain since 2008, and the biggest one-day percentage gain since 2011.

- The S&P 500 Index is up 72.90 points or 3.90% today to 1940.51

- Largest one-day point gain since Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008

- Largest one-day percentage gain since Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011

- Snaps a six trading day losing streak

- Off 8.93% from its record close of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015

- Up 186.83% from its bear low of 676.53 hit Monday, March 09, 2009

- Today's closing value is the third lowest this year

- Off 8.93% from its 52 week high of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015

- Up 4.19% from its 52 week low of 1862.49 hit Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014

- Down 2.98% from 52 weeks ago

- Off 8.93% from its 2015 closing high of 2130.82 hit Thursday, May 21, 2015

- Up 3.90% from its 2015 closing low of 1867.61 hit Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015

- Month-to-date it is down 7.76%

- Year-to-date it is down 118.39 points or 5.75%

4:29 pm | NYSE total volume heaviest since...Monday | by Kristen Scholer

It was another day of active trade with NYSE total volume reaching 5.3 billion shares, above Tuesday's 5.2 billion level, but shy of Monday's 6.6 billion print.

4:26 pm | The Dow's tale of the tape: biggest day in four years | by Paul Vigna

Okay, here's the final tally for the Dow, which logged its third largest one-day point gain in the index's history. There was one other "third" the index recorded today, too: even after the big rally, today's closing level was the third-lowest this year.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 619.07 points or 3.95% today to 16285.51

- Third biggest point gain ever

- Largest one day point gain since Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008

- Largest one day percentage gain since Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011

- Snaps a six-trading day losing streak

- Off 11.07% from its record close of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015

- Up 148.75% (rounded) from its bear low of 6547.05 hit Monday, March 09, 2009

- Today's closing value is the third lowest this year

- Off 11.07% from its 52 week high of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015

- Up 3.95% from its 52 week low of 15666.44 hit Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015

- Down 4.89% from 52 weeks ago

- Off 11.07% from its 2015 closing high of 18312.39 hit Tuesday, May 19, 2015

- Up 3.95% from its 2015 closing low of 15666.44 hit Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015

- Month-to-date it is down 7.94%

- Year-to-date it is down 1537.56 points or 8.63%

4:23 pm | Google has best day in five weeks | by Kristen Scholer

It was a strong day for tech with the sector ending up 5.3%, the largest percentage gain of all 10 sectors. Google was a standout within tech, closing up 7.7% for its best day since July 17 -- the day after it reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

4:20 pm | Markets unturmoil | by Erik Holm

Sixty stocks in the S&P 500 rose by more than 5%. Behind Cameron International, which we flagged earlier because of its agreement to sell itself, the big gainers were Mallinckrodt, Monsanto and Netflix. All were up more than 8%.

Only 11 stocks finished in the red.

4:12 pm | Best day for major indexes since... | by Kristen Scholer

Things ended on an upbeat note Wednesday with major indexes closing near their highest levels of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all had their biggest daily percentage gains since 2011 rising 3.9%, 4% and 4.2%, respectively.

4:07 pm | Dow notches third-highest one-day point gain ever | by Paul Vigna

The Dow finished up 619 points, or 3.95%, at 16286, good for the third-largest one-day point gain in the index's history.

The other two days both came in October 2008. The index gained 889 points, or 11%, on Oct. 28, and it rose 936 points, again 11%, on Oct. 13.

Wednesday's 3.95% gain, however, doesn't even place in the top-20 all-time one-day gains measured by percent.

4:05 pm | Apple has best day since April 2014 | by Kristen Scholer

Apple ended up 5.7% for its best day since April 2014. This is a name that lagged the broader market during the six-day selloff. Buyers started coming in Tuesday though when shares of the tech giant ended fractionally higher on the day. For reference, Tuesday the S&P closed down 1.4%.

4:02 pm | Some relief on the Street | by Erik Holm

This snaps a six-session losing streak for the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq composite. Short-covering or no, there’s probably some relief rippling across some trading floors right now.

4:00 pm | Ding ding ding. | by Erik Holm

Ding ding ding.

3:55 pm | Nasdaq leads major indexes amid tech strength | by Kristen Scholer

All major indexes are decisively higher. The Nasdaq Composite is outperforming, up 4.4%, amid the strength in tech stocks. The Nasdaq is now only down 0.1% on the week, versus the S&P 500′s week-to-date loss of 1.5%.

3:53 pm | Short covering makes sense | by Paul Vigna

The short-covering idea makes sense. You can imagine trader were waiting for a replay of yesterday, positioning for the indexes to crater again. When it didn't happen, they rushed to cover bets.

Cashin on the airwaves now. A lot of people sitting back waiting to see if we'd have another meltdown, he said. Traders betting on another meltdown "found the clock running out on them," and had to cover.

Said regardless of that, it's a good rally, and traders are trying to at least build a new base here. Still, the key will be to get back to Monday's high.

3:52 pm | Checking in on the components | by Erik Holm

Eight Dow components are up at least 5% with 8 minutes left.

And, perhaps even more surprising, six are in the green for the week, even after the carnage on Monday and Tuesday.

3:50 pm | Investors buying the dip? | by Kristen Scholer

With 10 minutes left of trade, the S&P 500 is up 3.7%, poised for its biggest daily percentage gain since 2011. All 10 sectors are up more than 1%. If those sector increases hold, it would mark the first time since December that all 10 sectors finished a session up at least 1%.

3:47 pm | Q&A | by WSJ Staff

Where do the global markets stand today? What is China planning to do next? And what does it all mean for investors? Alex Frangos, Asia Editor for WSJ's Heard on the Street column, is doing a Q&A on Facebook starting right now.

If you've got room on your screen for two windows, you should head over there and check it out.

If you've only got room for one, maybe just check it out later. Stick with us through this crazy close.

3:47 pm | Short covering? | by Paul Vigna

According to CNBC's Kelly Evans (and our former colleague) Art Cashin called this rally short-covering.

Unconvinced: Cashin. "It's just short-covering." @CNBC

— Kelly Evans (@Kelly_Evans) August 26, 2015

Not sure if he said that on-camera or said it to her on-set. I wasn't watching.

3:44 pm | 615 | by Paul Vigna

Dow up 615 points.

3:44 pm | Will NYSE volume reach five billion? | by Kristen Scholer

NYSE total volume Wednesday is above normal, but may not be as heavy as the past two sessions when it was 5.2 billion and 6.6 billion, respectively. Shortly before the close, NYSE total volume stands at 4.4 billion shares -- above 2015's daily average of 3.5 billion.

3:43 pm | One theory on the late rally | by Paul Vigna

My pet theory, which I have not yet tested out on anybody, is that the market got the message Dudley sent this morning, that the Fed’s watching what’s happening, and September is no given for a rate increase. But they had to wait around to see whether the market’s own internal momentum was overwhelm the rally. When no other shoes dropped – no flood of sell order, no trapdoor slide, traders felt confident enough to move in and buy, aggressively.

The key was the midday test of 1880 on the S&P 500. It was a minor technical level, but it had that trapdoor potential. When they passed that test, the only other thing to wait for was a flood of sell orders like yesterday. Safe to assume now that never materialized, either.

Dow up 585 points at 16250. A 600-point day is not impossible.

3:39 pm | Best performing sectors after S&P drops 10% in four days | by Kristen Scholer

When looking at sector performance after the S&P 500 slid 10% over the course of four trading sessions, Barclays found that financials tended to lead in the five trading days that followed. Their leadership faded over 20 and 50 days though with dividend sectors like telecoms and utilities outperforming during those windows. Over a longer-term horizon, 250 trading days later, consumer discretionary and tech stocks led with consumer staples and utilities underperforming.

"This indicates that selloffs such as the one being experienced have not historically signaled that defensive sectors will produce the highest returns over the next year," wrote Mr. Glionna.

Barclays notes that the sector data only goes back to 1990, so it includes six observation periods.

3:30 pm | Dow looking at only the fourth 500-point plus close ever | by Paul Vigna

Seems pretty certain there are more buy orders than sell orders right now. The Dow is up 518 points at 16184, and traded as high as 16245.

If the Dow closes up at least 500 points, it would be only the fourth time it has happened in the index's history, and the first since 2008, according to data from WSJ's stats group.

All three other occurrences happened in October and November of 2008.

Also, with the index up 3.2%, and the S&P 500 up 3.3%, it would be the first 3% gain for both indexes since since Nov. 30, 2011.

3:30 pm | Is natural gas the new gold? | by Rebecca Smith

Move over gold. Citi Research says natural gas may be a good refuge for investors seeking protection from falling oil prices because its price moves often are uncorrelated with broader market trends, unlike oil.

"Ironically, the worse macro factors, oil prices and financing conditions become, the more constructive it could be for gas prices," Citi writes.

That's because low oil prices could lead to a slowdown in oil and associated gas production, reducing gas supplies and helping gas prices firm. Financing conditions that worsen due to market turmoil also could lead to a reduction in drilling, Citi adds.

Relatively little U.S. gas is imported or exported -- another factor affecting pricing.

3:25 pm | One day can make a difference | by Paul Vigna

On Monday, the slide in U.S. stocks was a "rational adjustment," Commonwealth Financial's Brad McMillan said. He may not be moving off the first word of that statement, but after yesterday's late-session collapse, he's more concerned about the magnitude implied by the second word.

"After the decline at the end of the day yesterday (Tuesday), I’m getting more concerned about the next couple of weeks in U.S. markets," he wrote in an afternoon note. "Although fundamentals remain strong, there appears to be a bigger break in confidence that could well lead to further downward movements."

Valuations, he noted, leave plenty of room for more declines. Looking at a “forward” PE ratio, with earnings estimated at $127.72, he figures a 16 PE puts the S&P 500 at 2040, a 14 PE puts it at 1790, and a 12 PE puts it at 1530. That last figure would represent a 28% drop from the market’s May high, incidentally.

“We’re now at 14.9x or so, near the 15x level that prevailed in 2007 but above the valuations since the end of 2013. In other words, we’re still above valuations that prevailed until pretty recently and at about the level of just before the crisis. From a valuation perspective, then, there appears to be room for a further decline. The question is how far that could go.”

He thinks at drop in the PE to 14 is reasonable. A drop to 12 isn’t impossible though, he concedes, although absent a crisis, he that would represent the trough.

3:23 pm | What happens after the S&P drops 10% in four days | by Kristen Scholer

Stocks are recovering Wednesday, but up until today they had seen six straight days of losses with the S&P 500 shedding 10% alone in the past four sessions.

Barclays looked at how many other times this has happened since 1940 and found only 10 instances that fit the mold: A drop of at least 10% over four days. In the five days that followed, the S&P 500 had positive returns nine out of 10 times. The same was true 250 trading days after this occurred. Barclays says, in most cases, the S&P 500 was “substantially higher” after 250 days.

“History suggests the S&P 500 will rebound,” wrote Barclays strategist Jonathan Glionna. “We agree.”

Earlier Wednesday we wrote about how Mr. Glionna is sticking by his year-end call for the S&p 500 to finish 2015 at 2100, up 2%.

3:17 pm | Next test: Monday, Tuesday's intraday highs | by Paul Vigna

This is quite a move, to be sure, but it's coming off such a depressed base, it's not that surprising.

The next thing to look for will be if they can push the indexes back over yesterday and Monday's intraday highs. That'd be 1952 and 1942 on the S&P 500, respectively, and 16345 and 16270 on the Dow.

3:13 pm | Buyers taking over, Dow's up more than 500 points | by Paul Vigna

The buyers are taking this thing over. Dow's now up 531 points, or 3.4%, at 16197. The S&P 500 is up 63 points, or 3.3%, at 1929.

3:06 pm | Where we stand with an hour left | by Kristen Scholer

With an hour left to go in Wednesday's session, major indexes are near their session highs. The S&P 500 and the Dow 30 are both up 2.5%. Tech remains the best-performing sector, boosted by gains in Google, MasterCard, Apple and Facebook. Oil is lower, but energy stocks are holding up with the S&P energy sector higher by 2.1%.

At no point in Wednesday's session has the Dow 30 been negative. The S&P 500, though, was down fractionally at its low of 1867.55.

2:58 pm | From June to September to December | by Paul Vigna

Is the market finally going to get its wish, or at least, one of its wishes? While the market for most of this summer had low odds on a September rate hike, economists were almost certain that September would indeed see what's been called "liftoff."

But after this morning's presser from the NY Fed's William Dudley, to say nothing of the events of the past week, economists may have to start coming around to the market's take on this.

Harm Bandholz, the chief U.S. economist at UniCredit, is one who's thrown in the towel on September - after having to throw in the towel on June when that month came and went without a rate hike. "Having been in the June camp for a long time, we have to revise our fed funds target rate call for the second time this year," he said. Back then, it was the lingering effects of the bad winter. Now it's the visceral effects of China and the market turmoil.

"Only one week ago, before these concerns escalated, a September rate hike still looked like a done deal. The clearest hint that the latest developments will indeed have an impact on the Fed’s near term policy decision was given today by Vice Chair Bill Dudley, who told a news conference at the New York Fed: 'From my perspective, at this moment, the decision to begin the normalization process at the September FOMC meeting seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago.'

"You are probably not getting it any clearer from a central banker than that."

UniCredit is now pegging December for liftoff.

2:50 pm | Stocks back at/near session highs | by Paul Vigna

The S&P 500 marked a fresh session high here, one of the aspects of the day several technicians we follow had pointed to as an important sign.

The S&P 500 rose as high as 1918.57, currently up 45 at 1913, and the Dow came close, rising at high as about 16075 (it hit 16101 this morning), currently up 400 at 16066.

2:50 pm | Volume heavier than normal | by Kristen Scholer

Already, with a little over an hour to go before the close, NYSE total volume is at 3.6 billion shares -- above the 2015 daily average of 3.5 billion. The past three sessions, not including Wednesday, volume has exceeded five billion shares. Monday it was the heaviest in about four years at 6.6 billion shares.

2:46 pm | Dow is back to 400 points up on the day | by Paul Vigna

And we're back to the Dow being up 400 points on the day. Now up 414 and rising sharply. At session high it was up 434.

2:42 pm | Can you say cautiously optimistic? | by Paul Vigna

Afternoon trading seems to have found a magnet at 1905 on the S&P 500. The index keeps coming back to it, but the bigger numbers to watch remain 1900 and 1926.

Lord only know what will happen in the last hour of trading, but it's notable that by this time yesterday, the market was already significantly off its session highs. Today's different in that there was a well-defined test in the early afternoon, and the indexes have been rising since then.

S&P 500 up 44 at 1912. Session high is 1915. Key test level is 1926.

2:40 pm | Watching the yen | by James Ramage

The yen’s haven status during the recent market upheaval over China’s slowing growth has kept it strong against the dollar. But slowing growth and stagnant, low inflation in Japan will give Prime Minister Abe and the BOJ room to weaken the yen further, says UBS Wealth Management’s Thomas Flury.

That could mean the BOJ boosts its monetary stimulus program sometime in the fall or early in 2016.

In response, the money manager is betting the dollar will rise to 127 against the yen in the coming months.

“Japan has an inflation problem, and with oil and energy prices so low, they can easily push for a weaker yen,” he says.

USD/JPY is up 0.9% today to 119.556.

2:24 pm | China-exposed stocks past seven days | by Kristen Scholer

While we're on the topic of China-exposed stocks, it's worth taking a look at how individual names have performed since the S&P 500 began its six-day downturn last week. Earlier in August, Goldman compiled a list of 20 S&P 500 stocks with the largest sales exposure to China. They include mostly tech companies with three consumer names in the mix. A little over half have underperformed the broader market since the close Aug. 17, with casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. taking the biggest hit.

2:11 pm | Bad as it looks, stocks are carving out a trading channel | by Paul Vigna

As brutal as the equities markets have been this week, they do seem to be carving out a fairly well defined trading channel, Instinet’s Frank Cappelleri points out. Even if it is sloping downward.

The S&P 500 today has so far managed to set a “higher low” compared to Tuesday (1880 today versus 1863 yesterday), keeping the bottom end of the channel intact. The upper end is around 1926, and that’s a level that several other technicians we follow have flagged as well. This morning’s high was 1915, so it hasn’t been properly tested.

He warns, though, “we’re not out of the woods by any means, especially when we recall the massive sell imbalance that hit the market in the final hour yesterday.”

Seems like everybody’s got an eye out for that after yesterday’s debacle.

2:05 pm | Time to turn bullish on euro? | by James Ramage

Now is the right time to bet on a weaker euro, says UBS Wealth Management's Thomas Flury.

With the common currency around $1.14, UBS sees enough of a rebound in the dollar to catch the next trip down to $1.05 in the coming months. UBS reopens a short EUR/USD position that it had closed earlier in the summer during the Greek crisis.

The divergence in economic growth prospects and monetary policy still favor the greenback, Mr. Flury says. And even if the Fed delays raising rates, pressure on the ECB is mounting to do additional easing. What's more, China's slowdown will affect European exports far more significantly than those in the US.

"Now we feel more confident in taking long-dollar positions against the euro, despite China being a hurdle," Mr. Flury says.

2:00 pm | Two hours and counting | by Erik Holm

There are two hours to go in the U.S. trading day, and stock markets are showing some real pep. The S&P 500 is up 2.2% to 1909. Tech and energy still lead the way.

The Dow is up 350 points to 16017. All 30 components are back in the green.

1:53 pm | China-exposed stocks underperform since June | by Kristen Scholer

While the U.S. stock market, broadly speaking, held up relatively well — until lately — to the tumble in China’s stock market that started in the middle of June, those stocks that get more than 20% of their revenues from China started deteriorating two months ago.

Citigroup Inc. put together a chart of China-exposed stocks versus the S&P 500 this year. It illustrates that stocks getting more than 20% of their sales from China had been moving in tandem with the broader market until late June. Since then, it’s been a downward spiral for the China-exposed stocks though as the Shanghai Composite has lost 43% since its June 12 high.

1:47 pm | Two things to look for this afternoon | by Paul Vigna

There will be two real tests this afternoon, we suspect, assuming nothing comes out of the blue.

One will be the morning’s highs, something Mark Newton pointed out (see our note earlier in the day). That’s 1915 for the S&P 500 and 16100 for the Dow. It traders can’t regain those levels, the rally will remain a skeptic’s plaything.

The other will be the closing orders. On Tuesday, a flood of sell orders drove the market far into negative territory by the close. We’re trying to glean anything we can about what those orders are going to look like today. Will another wave of sell orders derail today’s rally?

1:44 pm | Markets jump off support | by Paul Vigna

Interesting developments here. We specifically remember about this time yesterday, the indexes took a big step down. We remember because it sent us scrambling to the "Broadtape," to see if any headlines had crossed to cause the market to drop. There weren't any. The most notable thing was an auction of two-year notes.

Today, though, the market seems to be having a different reaction to stimuli. After testing the minor technical level of 1878, the market has bounced higher. The S&P 500 is now up 38 points (2%) at 1905. The DJIA is up 333 (2.1%) at 15996.

1:35 pm | As currencies swing, some asset managers hold firm | by James Ramage

Recent turmoil has hurt performance of many investors' long-dollar positions and discouraged selling into the surging volatility. But some feel more comfortable riding out the storm, convinced that their currency portfolios will rebound once markets stabilize.

Standish Mellon Asset Management expects the dollar to continue to gain against many Asian currencies, particularly those in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, says the firm's David Leduc. Standish is holding its call on China's growth at 6.8%, believing Beijing will tackle its underlying risks. It also sees the greenback rising against the euro and yen.

"While financial market volatility forces people to question their assumptions, underneath, nothing fundamentally has really changed," Leduc says. "We like the levels we're at now in our positions."

1:27 pm | Lackluster 5-year auction | by Cynthia Lin

Bidders held back at this afternoon's 5-year Treasury auction as the recent market turmoil clouds prospects of a Fed rate hike this year.

Buyers submitted enough bids to cover the $35 billion sale just 2.34 times -- the lowest cover since mid-2009. A 1.463% yield may have deterred interest as well, it being the lowest rate paid at a 5-year auction since April.

Indirect bidders, who have been heavy buyers at recent Treasury sales, took half of today's supply. That's down from an average 61% at recent 5-year auctions.

Treasury prices continue to dance around the flatline. Ten-year notes off 4/32 to yield 2.149%.

1:18 pm | Glass-half-full view on commodities | by Alistair Macdonald

Investor sentiment towards commodities has rarely, if ever, been more negative, but there are plenty of reasons to take a more positive view, says Capital Economics.

Fears over China are "grossly overdone" given their economy has already slowed sharply and recent data has been mixed rather than unrelentingly negative. "Aside from the bad news from China, there is very little to support fears of a major global downturn," they say.

Additional weakness in commodity markets will accelerate cuts in production necessary to rebalance supply and demand. "The upshot is that we expect some pretty sizeable gains in the prices of most industrial commodities over the coming months."

1:15 pm | Euro outlook may darken | by James Ramage

The euro benefited from recent market turmoil as investors bought the common currency to unwind euro-funded carry trades, reverse some of their large euro shorts and pull some of their euro hedges on equity positions. But its prospects are likely to shift once markets calm and investors remember the common currency’s fundamental picture, says Commonwealth Foreign Exchange’s Omer Esiner.

The eurozone’s inflation outlook continues to darken, particularly as the currency strengthens, and the ECB could well boost QE. And China’s slowdown is likely to hurt Europe’s exports more than the US, he says, particularly through reduced demand for machinery exports.

Euro down 1.2% today to $1.1380.

1:14 pm | Keep an eye on 1878 on the S&P 500 | by Paul Vigna

That move in the past 40 minutes was interesting. S&P 500 got down to right about 1880, which is a minor technical level, and one today that will bear watching, said Mark Newton of Greywolf Execution Partners.

The registered technician also warned this rally isn't going to amount to much unless the indexes can get over the early morning highs, and that right now the market remains in a downtrend.

Here's some excerpts from his late-morning note:

"Two hours in. S&P already having a bit of difficulty holding gains, with today’s open not totally unlike yesterday’s open but breadth on this 2% bounce only about 2/1 positive

"Important to note that despite being up nearly 2% and earlier 2.5%, equities remain in downtrends still even from last week and remain 1.5-2% under yesterday’s highs in S&P futures. So the notion that a 2% bounce might have jump-started a counter-trend rally of any sort remains very premature.

"Downtrend intact for S&P and premature to expect bigger bounce, but key areas lie at 1923 and until we eclipse earlier highs for S&P futures and similar level for SPX cash- 1925. More likely that this bounce fades and we back off down to and under. 1878 would be key, and under translates into a likely test of yesterday’s lows.

That low, in case you missed it, is 1867. S&P 500 is up 24 points at 1892.

1:13 pm | Another volatility measure | by Min Zeng

Financial markets are in for a volatile ride. Gauges in both the stock and bond markets are pointing to wilder swings amid the global market turmoil and uncertainty over Fed tightening.

The MOVE Index, an options-based gauge of investors' expectations for swings in the U.S. Treasurys market, was 91.09 yesterday, from 73.01 a month ago. The index rose to 94.54 Monday, the highest since February, according to data from Credit Agricole.

Reflecting the jumpy markets, the 10-year yield at one point on Monday dropped close to 1.9% before ending at 1.997%. The note recently yielded 2.121%.

1:10 pm | Dollar finds fresh strength | by Erik Holm

The dollar is also gaining traction again. After bottoming out at against the yen at noon New York time, it’s been headed higher over the past hour. One dollar now buys 119.344 yen, up 0.6% for the day. It was around 119 even about an hour ago.

1:04 pm | Let's check the heatmap | by Erik Holm

There’s actually a little mid-day rally taking place here. Dow is up 240. S&P 500 is up 1.4%. But the heatmap for the S&P still isn’t giving off much, well, heat.

12:53 pm | Sector check | by Paul Vigna

Every sector is still trading higher, though the gains aren't very convincing. Tech is up 1.5%, and four other sectors are up about 1%: materials, energy, financials, telecom. At the bottom of the pile, consumer staples are up 0.4%, and utilities are up 0.2%

Still, the week-to-date changes are bad. Utilities are down 6.6%. Energy is down 5.5%. Financials are down 5.3%. Tech is the best sector, down only 3.2%.

For the month to date, and keep in mind this has been the worst August in 17 years, six sectors are down 10% or more. Energy is off 14%. Five others - health care, consumer discretionary, financials, materials, and tech - are all down 10-11%.

Utilities are the best on this measure, down only 4.7%.

12:43 pm | The Cashin-note counter has been turned on | by Paul Vigna

Another note just popped in from Cashin, and with three on the day now, we can start our official Cashin-note counter. If things get really out of hand, we'll expect a cluster of notes from the old floor trader.

Just like yesterday, he points out, the problem is that market is rising sharply, but it isn't getting over the previous day's highs. That's a sign that the rebound just doesn't have any real steam to it. It's fine in a vacuum, a technical vacuum if you will, but as soon as it runs into resistance, it crumbles.

Here's his take on it:

"Stocks continue to waffle and watch WTI. As was the problem with yesterday's oversold rebound, today we failed to challenge or take out yesterday's intra-day highs.

"Volume today is above Tuesday at this point of day. Run rate at noon projects to an NYSE final volume of 1.129 billion shares."

The Dow is now up only 133 points, at 15800, and setting fresh lows for the day. S&P 500's up 14 at 1882. Remember, 1866 is the key level to keep an eye on down here.

12:43 pm | Base metals lower at London close | by Ese Erheriene

Base metals closed lower in London on Wednesday, as risk-averse market participants sold down their positions, worried about the prospects for China and shrugging off a recent attempt by the country’s central bank to stimulate the economy of the world’s biggest buyer of metals.

The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract was down 2.6% at $4,935 a metric ton at the PM kerb close, heading back below the psychologically important $5,000 mark during the session. All the other base metals closed lower. Aluminum was down 1.7% at $1,531 a ton, zinc was down 2.2% at $1,700.50 a ton, nickel was down 1.4% at $9,570 a ton, lead was down 1.9% at $1,648 a ton and tin was down 2.1% at $13,945 a ton.

12:37 pm | Checking in on VXX | by Erik Holm

The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, is at its high for the day. And VIX short-term futures are heading higher. Do they know something the stock market doesn’t?

12:35 pm | Monday's intraday low still has pull | by Paul Vigna

We had mentioned on Monday that 1866, the S&P 500’s early morning low, was an important number that would almost certainly be revisited. That happened on Tuesday, as the market careened into the closing bell. The S&P 500 closed at 1867, one point above Monday’s intraday low.

Stocks rose again early Wednesday, but the pull of that level is still a matter the market’s going to have to address again, said Jeff Macke:

Today means nothing unless / until the $SPX hits yest close at 1867. Resolve must be tested. pic.twitter.com/MzryvLwlsC

— Jeff Macke (@JeffMacke) August 26, 2015

Now, if the market closes higher today, could you say in retrospect that the test of the that level occurred on Tuesday, and was successful. Traders better hope that’s the case, because we are already seeing stocks down sharply from their morning highs. If 1866 becomes a testing ground again, the numbers below a failed test get nasty. As we pointed out this morning, the next levels become 1831 and 1793.

For the record, bear territory for the S&P 500 lies at 1705.

12:29 pm | Green screens remain | by Erik Holm

Three hours down. And the stock market? Still up. But the dark commentary from the floor and the wider world of Wall Street isn’t matching the green on our screens.

Mohamed El-Erian summed up the mood:

US #stocks are struggling for now to sustain big rally despite another good set up - data, dovish @FederalReserve remarks & #China policy

— Mohamed A. El-Erian (@elerianm) August 26, 2015

Dow is up 163 to 15829. We see 28 components up, versus two down. S&P 500 is at 1886, almost exactly 1% higher on the day. All S&P sectors are higher, led by energy and tech.

The Nasdaq is up 0.8% to 4543. The Russell 2000 is up 0.1% to 1105.

12:24 pm | "A false sense of complacency" | by Saumya Vaishampayan

Before the recent wild swings in stocks, David O'Malley, chief executive of Penn Mutual Asset Management, said equity markets had been “lulled into a false sense of complacency.” He had been eying the discrepancy between sharp swings in bond prices earlier this year and relative calm in stocks. That, to him, couldn’t last.

And he said that while stock-market volatility is likely to continue in the short term until the Federal Reserve comments on the market turmoil and its policy outlook, he’s looking to scoop up large U.S. companies with solid dividends that have been beaten down amid the latest round of Chinese growth jitters.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t a U.S. economy issue,” he said.

12:22 pm | How oversold are stocks? | by Kristen Scholer

A look at how far the S&P 500 has drifted from its 50-day moving average paints the picture of how oversold stocks are. For reference, the 50-day moving average is the average of the previous 50 session closing levels.

Tuesday the S&P 500 closed 4.17 standard deviations below its 50-day moving average, according to Bespoke Investment Group. That marked the third day the index had closed more than four standard deviations below its 50-day trend line. And, according to Bespoke, that’s only happened one other time in the index’s history: In May 1940. Not even the 1987 crash was this oversold relative to trend.

Based on its data, Bespoke says it doubts the market bottom is in, despite the oversold conditions. But, it thinks it’s unlikely we enter a bear market and witness a true stock market crash. As of midday Wednesday, the S&P 500 is 11% from its May 21 closing record.

12:13 pm | More problems for ETFs | by Kirsten Grind and Bradley Hope

An outage at a key provider of data to the asset-management industry has prevented dozens of U.S. mutual funds and exchange-traded funds from accurately pricing securities, undermining a crucial component of the trading of the funds for investors.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which acts as an administrator for asset management firms, said it was having problems with a SunGard Data Systems Inc. system that “has impacted a limited number of fund accounting clients and the processing of net asset values of certain mutual funds and ETFs,” a spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.

“The SunGard system became available with limited capacity late Tuesday. Our teams have been working together to clear the backlog and we are working with SunGard to resume normal processing as soon as possible,” the bank said.

The problem, which began earlier in the week, has affected a number of large mutual-fund firms, including Federated Investors and Voya Investment Management. The problem isn’t believed related to the trading turmoil at Monday’s U.S. open.

12:09 pm | Already turning eyes to the close | by Paul Vigna

UBS' Art Cashin out with another update, with the Dow now up "only" 172 points, at 15838.

"There is an unusually large amount of interest in today's close. Last night's close was so large and so was its market impact. Lots of buzz that it may have been the result of massive redemptions so we'll look to see if there's another shoe to drop.

"Watch crude. A move below $38.50 might bring sellers in stocks while a move above $40 buyers."

12:05 pm | It's War - Schroders | by Giles Turner

There is nothing like a global fight among currencies to get investors excited. “This is the next stage of the currency wars ,” summed up Johanna Kyrklund, head of multi-asset investments at Schroders PLC, the largest U.K. asset manager.

“Initially when the Chinese [yuan] depreciated, you saw a lot of commentators saying that it is just a small adjustment and it doesn’t mean anything. I think they underestimated how important that was,” Ms. Kyrklund added.

11:56 am | Tale of the tape in Europe | by Josie Cox

European stocks briefly rose Wednesday, but the rally proved short-lived and almost all major indexes in the region ended the day lower.

The Stoxx Europe 600 closed down 1.8%, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.7%, Germany’s DAX lost 1.3% and France CAC gave up 1.4%.

In non-China related news, shares in Swiss biotech company Syngenta AG fell 17%, making the company the worst performing stock of the day on the Stoxx Europe 600, after Monsanto Co. said that it had dropped its roughly $46 billion bid for Syngenta.

11:55 am | Today's looking like Wednesday, only a bit worse | by Paul Vigna

So far, Wednesday’s trading is looking somewhat like Tuesday’s trading. Only, a bit worse.

On Tuesday, the DJIA surged out of the gate, up about 340 points in the opening minutes. It crested to a session high around 16307 before noon, up 436 points at the session high. It then slowly and steadily lost steam, before the final hour’s violent selloff.

On Wednesday, the index rose 434 points in the initial surge, really within the first five minutes of trading. It did not reach any higher than that, and ha’s been steadily losing ground since then. Currently, it is up about 200 points, at 15870. On Tuesday, the index didn’t hit a point where it was up by “only” 200 points until about 1:30 p.m.

11:54 am | Death Crosses rare over past decade | by Kristen Scholer

Earlier Wednesday morning we wrote about how the S&P 500 was approaching a Death Cross: When its 50-day moving average falls below its 200-day moving average.

WSJ’s Market Data Group ran the numbers and only four other times in the past decade has the S&P 500 been in a death cross formation on a closing basis. Here are the periods…

-July 19, 2006 – Sept 11, 2006

-December 21, 2007 – June 22, 2009

-July 2, 2010 – Oct 21, 2010

-August 12, 2011 – January 30, 2012

11:50 am | FTSE ends lower | by Josie Cox

London's FTSE 100 ends the session 1.7% lower at 5979, having risen briefly earlier in the session. All but a handful of stocks fell on the day, with Frenillo the biggest loser, down slightly more than 7%. Shares in Standard Chartered fell 5.1%. Shares in Randgold Resources slipped 4.6%. The day's biggest gainer was International Consolidated Airlines. Shares in the parent of British Airways rose 2.6%.

11:48 am | All 10 sectors still in the green | by Kristen Scholer

Stocks have come off their highs, but all 10 S&P 500 sectors remain in the green. Tech continues to outperform, up 2%. The next best performers are telecoms and materials. Rate-sensitive utilities and consumer staples are the laggards up 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, as bond yields rise for a second day.

11:44 am | The dark side of risk-taking coming to light | by Paul Vigna

What the market is seeing this August is the dark underbelly of Fed policy and excessive risk-taking , DailyFX's Mr. Stanley, said.

“This is why the Fed wants to hike rates in the first place,” he wrote in a post. “Quantitative Easing was never designed to be an economy builder. It was merely meant to help the economy from going into full on depression-like collapse mode.” It worked, but one consequence was that investors were forced farther and farther afield in search of returns.

In polite society, that is called the “search for yield,” or the “reach for yield.” In less polite circles, it’s called malinvestment. The whole point of the capital markets is to efficiently allocate capital, so the money goes where it will do the most good and drive the best economic growth. It’s the whole underlying rationale of efficient markets.

Only, it hasn’t been working that way. Money hasn’t been going to where it will do the long-term most good, it’s been going to where it will gain the biggest short-term gain. Now, that isn’t a new story, but the tension between those two has been tilted in favor of the latter by Fed policy – and other central banks, too, to be fair – which made safe investments virtually untouchable and risky investments almost mandatory. Or did you think it was normal for teachers’ pension funds to be piling into energy companies?

The real rub is that corporations didn’t invest nearly enough in their business during the salad days. Capex has been low for the entire recovery. Now, with the Fed looking to change direction, with sales and profit growth down, companies will be even further pressed in terms of capex expenditures.

“With the annual rate of business investment still firmly in the red, there remain concerns that corporate development and expansion will remain limited in the second half of the year,” said Stifel chief economist Lindsey Piegza.

11:43 am | The unknowns | by Kristen Scholer

"Confusion is spreading as fast or faster than contagion," said James Stanley, currency analyst at DailyFX. He listed three areas from which uncertainty is stemming: A Fed rate rise, the global impact of China's slowdown and what lower commodity prices mean for consumers and financial markets.

Regarding a looming rate rise, Tuesday we wrote about how market participants are dialing back their expectations of liftoff due to the recent tumult. WSJ's Jon Hilsenrath, in a front-page story Wednesday, said China's woes could lead to a later liftoff date. And Bill Dudley, a Fed voting member, said Wednesday that the case for a September rate rise now looks less compelling.

“I really do hope we can raise interest rates this year,” Mr. Dudley said. But he added, “Let’s see the data unfold before we make any statements when that might occur.”

11:33 am | Two hours in the books | by Erik Holm

Two hours into the U.S. trading day, and stocks are still up. But they’re near their lowest points of their day, if you throw out the first moments of trading.

S&P 500 is at 1891. It was earlier as high as 1915.

Dow is up 197 points to 15863. It briefly touched 16100 earlier. But all 30 Dow components are still up for the day.

11:30 am | Problems with a patient Fed | by Min Zeng

The popular trade in the bond market this year has been to sell short-term notes and buy long-term bonds, known as the flattening-curve trade. Now the risk is that traders and investors may need to unwind that trade if the Fed continues to stay patient.

Mr. Dudley's comments today suggest the Fed isn't confident about tightening policy next month. And some analysts are already talking about liftoff getting pushed out to 2016. If that's the case, short-term yields could tumble.

11:16 am | Are you so sure it's not about the economy? | by Paul Vigna

We have heard too many times to count in the last three days that this market selloff is about China, or the Fed, or HFT shops. But almost to a one, these pundits have fallen over themselves to say it is not about the U.S. economy.

Are you so sure?

The reality is that GDP growth in the first-half of 2015 was 1.5%. That’s virtually a “stall speed” rate, meaning it would take almost any kind of shock the send the economy into recession.

Corporate profit growth has been, well, it’s been nonexistent for three quarters. We’re not talking about the press-release numbers, which exclude a whole host of expenses. We’re talking about actual, GAAP-basis profits. Profit growth has been weak for several quarters, in fact, and while a big chunk of that is due to the energy sector that isn’t the whole story.

Meanwhile, slowing profit growth, the “E” in the PE ratio, has been driving up valuations as prices continued to rise into May. Higher P, lower E, more stretched valuations. It was almost bound to snap at some point. Sales growth has been weak for years, but companies have covered it up in several ways, from aggressive buybacks to severe belt-tightening.

The drop in commodities prices didn’t come out of the blue, either. Take a look at my previous entry for more on that.

Look, there is a reason the Fed has been talking about raising interest rates for two years, but has yet to actually do it. They have seen nothing to convince them the economy can absorb even nominally higher rates.

The economy has been puttering along all year, while stocks have been riding around record highs. So, don’t be too sure that what we’re seeing in the markets right now isn’t about fundamentals after all.

11:10 am | Barclays maintains year-end 2% target | by Kristen Scholer

Barclays, in a note to clients Tuesday, maintained its year-end target of 2100 -- a view it shares with Goldman Sachs. That would represent a 2% annual increase, and it is one of the least optimistic forecasts among the 21 strategists followed by Birinyi Associates.

Jonathan Glionna, in the note, said that he's keeping his price target because "slow global economic growth is already a core part of our thesis and there are offsetting positives to consider."

He listed four positives and four negatives for stocks. They are...

+U.S. stocks did well during emerging market-led selloffs in 1997 and 1998

+Monetary policy remains supportive

+Valuation is more attractive after the selloff

+Earnings growth should improve in 2016

-Global growth is slowing

-U.S. dollar is expected to appreciate

-Some valuation measures still look too high

-Recent earnings performance has been poor

11:06 am | Treasurys react to Dudley | by Cynthia Lin

Bonds are buoyed by the prospect of delayed policy tightening in the wake of New York Fed president William Dudley's remarks. Treasury prices have erased earlier losses, with 10-year notes recently up 9/32 to yield 2.09%.

Just two weeks ago, Dudley had said following the PBOC's yuan devaluation that despite the move the US seemed on track for higher rates this year. Dudley is always a voter on the policy-setting board and is regarded as a core voice on the committee.

11:01 am | 'Formula for a global economic slowdown' | by Paul Vigna

The sharp drop in commodities prices is not benign, nor at this point can it be called transitory anymore, Danielle DiMartino Booth wrote in a note, and it should be apparent by now that the decline is going to have an impact on a global level.

"The price declines’ impact on inflation was supposed to be ‘transitory,’ that is until prices resumed their fall and the entire commodities complex gave way," said Ms. DiMartino Booth, who is currently chief market strategist at The Liscio Report and previously was a top adviser to former Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher. In the same way that the downturn in the shale boom hurt local economies, the drop in commodity prices is hurting the global economy.

"Tack on the stresses resulting from the strong dollar and collapsing commodities prices and you have the formula for a global economic slowdown, which is just what financial markets have begun to recognize."

Dow now up only 228 points. Remember, it was up 434 at the early high.

10:59 am | Individual bonds seen less volatile than ETFs, funds | by Sarah Krouse

The corporate bond market has had a quiet week compared to global equity markets, but the Wells Fargo Investment Institute says there are steps investors can take to prepare for potential fixed-income market liquidity risks.

George Rusnak, co-head of global fixed-income strategy says the firm expects liquidity challenges could cause investors headaches in more volatile corners of the bond market such as high-yield debt.

Investors can try to limit liquidity risk by increasing credit quality, steering clear of heavy high-yield bond exposure and consider buying individual bonds rather than mutual funds or ETFs.

"Owning individual bonds may allow you to control when you will actually sell those bonds and book a gain or loss. Mutual funds and ETF holders may experience more volatility than owners of individual securities when a liquidity challenge occurs as the funds are forced to liquidate positions to address investor redemptions," he writes.

10:57 am | Sixth-biggest deal of teh year jjst got pulled | by Dana Mattioli

Well, we just noted that it was a week of robust M&A despite volatile markets, but one big deal just got pulled.

Monsanto dropped its bid for Syngenta after a months-long pursuit. Monsanto’s attempted deal to buy Syngenta ranked sixth in the list of largest deals this year.

Syngenta ADRs are trading off 14%. Monsanto shares are up 6.9%

10:55 am | A positive spin | by Kristen Scholer

As stock prices have come down and earnings have essentially moved sideways, one former headwind is lessening: Valuations. Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at brokerage Convergex, noted that the typical Dow 30 stock now trades at 15.5 times this year’s earnings and 14 times 2016′s earnings. “Not cheap, but no longer the 18x earnings we had with the Dow at +18,000.,” he said.

Mr. Colas thinks market action suggests the next 1000 points on the Dow “may well be lower, but at that point we’re getting to levels where the fundamentals show compelling value.”

10:54 am | Oil prices fall anew | by Nicole Friedman

More on the EIA data we mentioned: Even though crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell by 5.5 million barrels in the week, gasoline supplies rose by 1.7 million barrels and stocks of distillates, including heating oil and diesel fuel, rose by 1.4 million barrels. Supplies of other petroleum products, including propane, also rose.

Consumption of gasoline and other fuels dropped by about 2 million barrels a day in the week, the EIA said, with gasoline accounting for more than 500,000 barrels a day of that decline.

The surprise drop in gasoline demand and near-record stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products is causing oil prices to fall anew.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery recently fell 34 cents, or 0.9%, to $38.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, fell 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $43.11 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Both benchmarks are less than $1 a barrel above the six-year lows they reached on Monday.

10:53 am | Aviva adds exposure to Europe, U.S. and Japan | by Josie Cox

Aviva Investors has bought equities in Europe, Japan and the U.S. in recent days and Peter Fitzgerald, head of multi-asset at the company, says that he would see any further bouts of volatility as an opportunity to buy even more in these regions.

“Worse than expected Chinese growth and the first U.S. rate rise since 2006 are legitimate concerns for markets, but both seem to have been largely ‘priced in’ to asset valuations for some time,” he says.

10:46 am | Dudley Q&A moves onto all-important question about Long Island | by Paul Vigna

Dudley's Q&A moves onto the local economy, and a Newsday reporter starts in about Long Island. So that looks like about all we're going to get out of Dudley.

Dow up 254 points, S&P 500 up 30 points.

10:45 am | Stocks bouncing around | by Paul Vigna

Stocks are really bouncing around here. Dow now is up 250 points, was up more closer to 350 just a few minutes ago.

You wonder how much emphasis they’ll give to Dudley’s comments.

It’s not like anybody expected him to say definitively that September was either on or off the table.

10:44 am | Crude stockpiles drop | by Erik Holm

Just before Dudley started the Q&A, word came down that U.S. crude stockpiles had unexpectedly declined in the week ended Aug. 21.

Crude-oil stockpiles fell by 5.5 million barrels to 450.8 million barrels, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA added that inventories are still near 80-year highs for this time of year.

Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted supplies would rise by 300,000 barrels on the week.

10:44 am | Game over? | by Kristen Scholer

Strategists at UBS don't think the recent market turbulence signals a game-over scenario for stocks. They say they don't believe the May high represented a market top and highlight that over the past 25 years, bear markets have occurred as a result of an impending U.S. recession. "The strength in jobs and housing, manifesting itself in confident consumers and CEOs/CFOs, leave the probability of a recession over the next year as a tail risk – 16%, according to the June 2015 Duke/CFO Magazine survey," said Julian Emanuel of UBS.

10:43 am | What did the Post reporter ask? | by Paul Vigna

A NY Post reporter just asked a question, and got cut off by the moderator, who said his question wasn't on-topic. Dudley's talking about the regional and U.S. economy only.

I missed the question, but I'm guessing it wasn't about conditions in Cleveland.

10:41 am | A raise this year? | by Paul Vigna

He laughs when asked about raising rates in either October or December. Reiterates that he hopes the Fed can raise rates this year, but that's as far as he'll go.

10:40 am | The wealth effect | by Paul vigna

Dudley mentions the wealth effect in relation to the current market turmoil. Says a “large and prolonged” drop in the market would hit people’s wallets, and that “might – might” have an effect on how they spend their money.

10:38 am | Overseas seems to have caught his eye | by Paul Vigna

It seems like Dudley is giving a lot of weight to overseas, markets developments.

Not sure he's going to get a single question about the Buffalo economy, though.

10:36 am | An expanded view of 'data dependent' | by Paul Vigna

Dudley is saying that beyond just the data, the jobs reports and GDP numbers, the Fed is looking at, well, everything. What's happening overseas, what's happening in the markets. It's something that everybody knows, but it's also something the Fed that is ostensibly outside the Fed's mandate, so the fact he reiterated it is somewhat significant.

Dow up 307 points.

10:36 am | Dudley headlines | by WSJ Staff

Here are the first headlines hitting the tape from the Q&A with Dudley, a voting member of the Fed's open market committee that decides when to raise interest rates:

Dudley: September Rate Rise Case Now Less Compelling

Dudley: Important Not to Overreact to Market Events

Dudley: International Events Have Increased Downside Risks

Dudley: Fed Will Consider Many Factors at Its Upcoming Meeting

Dudley: Weak Inflation Data Has Not Been Surprising

10:35 am | Dudley answering questions | by Paul Vigna

Dudley: “You have to look at all the other things that can affect the economic outlook.” Not just the individual data reports.

10:34 am | Dudley Q&A | by Erik Holm

The Dudley speech we flagged to you earlier has reached the important Q&A stage. It’s on CNBC and elsewhere.

10:32 am | "Market reset" | by Daisy Maxey

Neither the U.S. or global economies are headed for recession, says John Calamos Sr., CEO and global co-CIO at Calamos Investments. Instead, we're seeing "a market reset that is not entirely unexpected," he says. Over the next months, markets are likely to be extremely choppy and may experience additional corrections, he says.

Market dislocations are offering Calamos select opportunities to establish and build positions in fundamentally strong companies worldwide, including emerging markets, he says, noting that stocks of companies with higher-quality fundamentals are likely to perform better than lower-quality companies in an uncertain environment,.

10:28 am | Deals getting done despite volatility | by Dana Mattioli

Deal makers always say uncertainty is M&A’s enemy, but despite major swings in the stock market, deals are getting printed. On Wednesday, oilfield services company Schlumberger announced a $12.7 billion deal to buy Cameron International in cash and stock. The deal follows a number of other public company deals earlier this week, such as Southern Company’s $8 billion deal to buy AGL Resources and private-equity firm Sycamore Partner’s take private of Belk Inc.

Schlumberger shares are down 5% to $68.88. Cameron shares are up 41% to $60, leading the S&P.

10:25 am | Global snapshot | by Kristen Scholer

U.S. stocks are in the green Wednesday morning, but they still have a lot of ground to make up before they recover six straight days of losses during which the large-cap S&P index shed nearly 235 points, or 11%. Here’s a look at world indexes over the past seven sessions, Wednesday included…

S&P 500: -9.9%

China’s Shanghai Composite: -27%

Japan’s Nikkei 225: -11%

France’s CAC: -8.7%

Germany’s DAX: -8.1%

Brazil’s Bovespa: -5%

10:22 am | Dollar falls against yen | by Erik Holm

The Dow and the S&P just took a couple big ticks lower, and now sit up 211 points and 25 points respectively. But in the currency market, the dollar took an even steeper tumble against the yen. It now sits at 119.367, up about 0.6% for the day. Earlier, it was above 119.85.

10:15 am | Five tough questions to ask your adviser | by Karen Damato

As the market has tumbled in recent days, many financial advisers have reached out to reassure clients that periodic drops are inevitable and that making big changes amid tumult is often a bad idea. Even investors who aren’t unnerved by the market gyrations should consider having additional conversations with their advisers, to get a deeper understanding of how those professionals operate and make sure their approach is a good fit.

Here are five tough questions to ask your adviser.

10:05 am | No discussion of monetary policy | by Michael Derby

In the prepared text for a speech on regional issues at his bank today, New York Fed leader William Dudley doesn’t comment on monetary policy or the national economic outlook. That could change, however: Dudley is due to take reporters’ questions at around 10:35 am New York time…or so. He could add an important clarifying voice to the debate over whether the Fed will raise rates next month.

10:05 am | Dudley presser begins | by Paul Vigna

So, the NY Fed's William Dudley has started his press briefing, about the regional economy. Things are in such a state that CNBC just showed a little video of him speaking, but things aren't so bad that they're actually cutting to the live feed of him talking about the state of the economy in Buffalo.

But the Q&A, whenever it starts, will almost certainly get around to rates and September. Stay tuned, Mouseketeers.

10:04 am | S&P 500 approaches Death Cross | by Kristen Scholer

A Death Cross is considered a bearish technical formation that occurs when a short-term moving average, or trend line, moves below a long-term moving average. In the S&P 500′s case, we’re looking at the 50-day moving average approaching the 200-day moving average. As of Wednesday morning, only a point separates the two. The 50-day moving average is 2078; the 200-day moving average is 2077.

This technical pattern can be an omen, with some technicians viewing it as marking the spot that a short-term pullback turns into a longer-term downtrend.

Two weeks ago, we wrote about how the Dow Jones Industrial Average had experienced a Death Cross. Bespoke Investment Group crunched the numbers though and, according to its figures, a death cross hasn’t been a death knell for the Dow 30. In the week and three months that followed, the index gained an average 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively. One month later it was off an average 0.2%.

10:00 am | The opening move gets poor marks | by Paul Vigna

Art Cashin gives the opening move for equities poor marks.

"Stocks spike to Tuesday's last hour reversal levels on opening and immediately go into freefall. Again, we failed to reach and exceed prior day's highs, giving rally a C- at best."

He then notes that the item of the day is coming up.

"New York Fed's Dudley at 10:00 is due to talk on local economy but Q&A after could bring potential surprises."

Dow's up 294 at 15960, S&P 500 up 45 at 1902. To his point about Tuesday, the S&P was trading at 1924 around 3:05 p.m. yesterday afternoon before it started cratering. This morning's high, so far, is 1915.

9:52 am | Oil in the red | by Paul Vigna

The risk crowd has a few headwinds here, looking at the charts. Oil is in the red, not much, but it's there. Down about 0.5% at $39.11. The euro is down 1.3% against the dollar, at 1.137. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield is up, though, at 2.15%, and gold is down 1.4% at $1,122.

Of all of them, oil lately seems to be the one that has gotten the most attention from the equities hotshots, so keep an eye on that.

9:46 am | This moring's open looks a lot like yesterday's | by Paul Vigna

History is rhyming this morning.

DJIA, up as much as 434 points in the first few minutes of trading, now up 295 points. That is almost exactly what happened on Tuesday, and I'm wondering if we can just take everything we wrote yesterday and cut and paste it into here.

Jokes aside, it's going to be a pretty big blow to sentiment if the market gets another day exactly like yesterday.

9:44 am | Dow's biggest point contributors | by Kristen Scholer

The Dow 30 is up about 294 points. Recall, this is a price-weighted index. So components with the highest price have the largest impact. Here are the biggest point contributors...

1) Apple Inc.: 20 points

2) International Business Machines Corp.: 18 points

3) Goldman Sachs Group Inc.: 18 points

4) Home Depot Inc. 18 points

5) UnitedHealth Group Inc.: 17 points

9:40 am | Take a picture | by Paul Vigna

It may shock you to hear this, but this rally has some skeptics already.

Dow up 400 points. Take a picture, it’ll last longer.

— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) August 26, 2015

9:40 am | "A much needed dose of reality" | by Min Zeng

The flip side of a haven market is that when the need to preserve capital eases, a price rally can quickly turn into a selloff. The 10-year yield tumbled below 2% on Monday but has recently jumped to 2.158%. While the yield remains very low from a historical perspective and few expects a spike from here, it suggests such low yields repel investors looking for better returns.

"The July durable goods report has injected a much needed dose of reality into the Treasury market," says James DeMasi, chief fixed-income strategist at Stifel Nicolaus. "It demonstrates the continued resiliency of the US economy in the face of formidable international headwinds."

DeMasi says a rate increase by the Fed in September remains on the table and that he expects the 10-year Treasury yield to rise toward 2.25% over the next couple of weeks.

9:39 am | Tech's stars | by Kristen Scholer

Technology is the best performing sector. Within the space, EMC Corp. and Google Inc. are up close to 5% each. Lam Research Corp., NVIDIA Corp., Avago Technologies Ltd., Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. are all up more than 3%.

9:38 am | Watching the resistance | by Paul Vigna

And just like that, the S&P 500 is up 45 points. Sitting around 1912. If you look at my previous post, you'll see there weren't any technical resistance levels between 1869 and 1923. In other words, there's a lot of "air" between them, so it's no surprise the indexes are jumping higher out of the gate.

What will be critical to watch is how the index does when it starts to hit these resistance levels, because that's where you can expect sellers to come in. Already, in fact, it looks like the first move toward 1923 has been met some resistance.

9:35 am | All 10 sectors in the green | by Kristen Scholer

All 10 S&P 500 sectors are solidly in the green, up more than 1%, during the start of trading Wednesday. When it comes to leadership, growth-sensitive names are taking the charge. Techs are the best performers, with the sector up 3.3%, followed by energy and consumer discretionary names.

9:34 am | Today's 'numbahs' for all you junior chartists | by Paul Vigna

Okay, so there’s a big open. We get that. The same exact thing happened yesterday, though, and we all know how that turned out.

If you’re looking for signposts along this murky road, here are today’s “numbahs” as provided by Longford Associates’ Joan McCullough, some above (resistance) and some below (support) Tuesday’s close of 1867:

1793.80, 1831.00, 1869.00, 1923, 1934. “And then what?” she asks, rhetorically.

Take note that the top one, 1934, saw significant action yesterday, and was in fact the pivot around which trading started to crumble. If it comes into play again, it’s likely to see a similar fight.

Above that, there is a “Battle Royale” brewing in the range of 1967 through 1975, she says. “At every milestone number, be on the lookout. And that’s all we can do for the nonce.”

9:33 am | All 30 Dow components are up | by Erik Holm

All 30 Dow components are up, led by Merck & Co., which was lagging the pack for most of the day yesterday. Now it’s up 5.3% in the first minutes.

Eight components are up more than 3%.

9:31 am | Here we go | by Erik Holm

Here we go. Dow is up 234 a few moments after the open. S&P is up 27, or 1.5%.

9:28 am | One last look at the futures before the open | by Erik Holm

One last look at the futures before the open: Dow is pointing up 316. S&P futures are up 41. Nasdaq is up 102.

Let's get ready for the open.

9:26 am | Europe turning green | by Josie Cox

European stock index have continued to pare back losses and the Stoxx Europe 600 is now on the brink of turning positive. Germany’s DAX is up 0.1% and France’s CAC is up 0.2%. London’s FTSE 100 is now little changed on the day.

9:25 am | Google's upgrade | by Patrick Sheridan

Why is Google up some much? It's probably the upgrade from the analysts at Goldman Sachs, who now rate it a "buy," saying it's "in the early stages of a multi-year cycle to expand margins, which will drive earnings outperformance and multiple expansion."

Goldman also raises revenue estimates to be in-line with Wall Street predictions and ups EPS estimates above consensus. In addition, Goldman lifts Google's price target to $800 from $660.

Google is now up 5.1% in pre-market trading at $643.69. In the past week, it's traded at a high of $700 and as low of $593.

9:24 am | Investors' 'biggest questions' | by Kristen Scholer

Is this really August? And how can this only be Wednesday?

Tim Anderson, managing director at MND Partners, says those are probably the two biggest questions investors are asking this morning. He thinks that until the S&P 500 gets through a resistance level of 1950, stocks are either going to trend sideways in an attempt to consolidate recent losses, or go lower, “possibly sharply lower until we find the next solid level of support.”

In terms of near-term support, Mr. Anderson is watching 1865 for the S&P 500, 16400 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 1105 for the Russell 2000.

9:22 am | A look at yesterday's meltdown through the closing sell orders | by Paul Vigna

In his daily Cashin's Comments note, UBS' Art Cashin, who runs the firm's floor operations at the NYSE and been on the floor (for various firms) since the Kennedy administration, looks at the last hour of trading through the swelling sell orders that were coming in.

After spending some time running down the various mid-afternoon China rumors that spooked the markets (all so vague that at this point they are not worth reprinting here), he gets to the sell orders that started filling up traders' books heading into the last hour. "They" in this case refers to the other traders on the floor, who were comparing notes.

At about 2:45, they noted that the close looked 75% sell orders with $500 million to sell on balance. Not highly unusual.

By 3:06, they noted that things looked over 80% to sell and had just over a billion dollars to sell on balance. That was spooky enough that prices started to slip in anticipation.

By 3:25, there were indications of 85% sell with over $1.8 billion on balance for sale. By now, the market had shifted into meltdown mode.

By 3:35, we had grown to 90% sell with a very hefty $2.5 billion on balance for sale. The meltdown was accelerating as volume swelled.

Ten minutes later we were up to a likely $3 billion for sale on balance and the market was in near rout. By 3:48, it was up to $3.5 billion and, as I told Bob Pisani on air at 3:55 [CNBC], by that time you couldn't find a buy order on the floor with a flashlight and a Geiger counter. An ugly close to an ineffective rebound attempt.

9:21 am | Inflation on the Fed's brain | by Cynthia Lin

The annual Jackson Hole symposium sponsored by the Kansas City Fed kicks off tomorrow and this year's focus is "inflation dynamics and monetary policy." For several meetings now, the central bank's policy makers have maintained that they expect inflation to rise gradually toward its 2% target. So the recent plunge in market-based inflation expectations will make for interesting discussion at the conference. Based on the yield gap between nominal Treasurys and TIPS, the 10-year outlook has inflation averaging just 1.5%. That's down from 1.93% just two months ago. Analysts say minutes from the July policy meeting released last week showed policymakers' heightened focus on inflation, or the lack thereof, which could mean a later rate hike.

9:16 am | Pre-market on the S&P | by Erik Holm

On the S&P 500, roughly 75 stocks are up more than 3% in pre-market trading. None are down that much. In fact, only about 9 are down at all.

The biggest gainer is Cameron International, up 45% thanks to a takeover agreement with Schlumberger. BlackRock is second, up 5.9%.

Other big gainers include EMC Corp., Lennar Corp., KeyCorp., and Google. Those four are up at least 4.8% apiece.

9:10 am | S&P 500's market cap is down $2.3 trillion since May highs | by Paul Vigna

More from Mr. Silverblatt, who goes on to break down the market-cap losses by sector. Since the May 21 high, the S&P 500 companies have lost $2.39 trillion in market cap. Somewhat surprisingly, tech is the single worst sector, down $542 billion. Energy comes in second, down $396 billion. Telecom - all five stocks in it - has seen the narrowest losses, down only $24.6 billion.

For comparison's sake, the index lost $5.8 trillion in the 2000-2002 downturn, and $7.9 trillion in the 2007-2009 crash. Since 1989, it has gained a cumulative $14.1 trillion.

Here's the breakdown by sector of the losses since the May high:

Tech: -$542.8BEnergy: -$396.7BFinancials: -$314.3BIndustrials: -$282BHealth Care: -$266.1BConsumer Discretionary: -$225.7BConsumer Staples: -$167.8BMaterials: -$123.1BUtilities: -$45.3BTelecom: -$24.6B

9:09 am | NYSE invokes Ruke 48--again | by Erik Holm

The New York Stock Exchange has again invoked Rule 48 for Wednesday's open. It's the third straight day that they've permitted market-makers to not diseminate price indications ahead of the open, an action that's supposed to make it easier to open stocks on potentially volatile days.

The rule, of course, only applies to the NYSE. A big chunk of trading takes place on other venues these days.

9:06 am | Dow's pre-market action | by Erik Holm

All 30 of the components in the Dow are set to open higher--and not by a little, either.

J.P. Morgan is leading the way in pre-market action, up 3.7%, and six other stocks are up at least 3%. The smallest gainer in the early action is Wal-Mart, and it's up 1.8%.

9:04 am | Goldman maintains Dec. liftoff call | by Kristen Scholer

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. maintains its view that the Fed will raise rates in December, a call it made after the central bank’s June meeting. But, it says, a further tightening in financial conditions, slower-than-anticipated inflation or disappointing growth would increase the risk that liftoff is pushed into 2016.

The recent market tumult, Goldman says, adds to its argument against a September rate rise.

9:01 am | Everything's gone green | by Erik Holm

Under 30 minutes until the U.S. open and the futures are still pointing up sharply. In fact, they’re finding some fresh traction. Dow futures are up 361 points. The S&P 500 is up 45. The Nasdaq is up 110.

8:54 am | Treasury bond yields touch their session high | by Min Zeng

Treasury bond yields touched their session high in the wake of the durable goods report.

Signs of improving U.S. growth may support expectations the Fed will raise rates as soon as September, though global market turmoil and rising volatility in stock markets have reduced chances of a rate hike in investors’ minds.

A $35 billion sale of five-year notes is due at 1 p.m., also weighing down on bond prices.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 2.152% vs 2.133% Tuesday and 1.997% Monday.

8:54 am | Worst August since 1998 | by Paul Vigna

Monday's 1100-point drop in the Dow in the first few minutes of trading may have been unprecedented, but Tuesday's late-day reversal actually wasn't, though it may have felt like it. Howard Silverblatt, the senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, dug through the market stats going back to 1962, and found a number of days like yesterday.

He explained in a note this morning:

"I screened for days which were at least 1% up and at least 1% lower in the intraday, had at least a 3% shift during the session (high / low), and closed up or down at least 1%. Basically, a lot of movement above and below the breakeven line, so you didn’t know where the market was (therefore Monday’s 3.94% decline didn’t qualify since it was never up 1% - actually it was never up at all).

"I found 66 occurrences back to 1962, with yesterday’s movement ranking 29 out of the 66; 45 of the 66 days ended in the black, with 22 in the red."

He pulled out some other interesting numbers: the S&P 500 has lost $1.2 trillion in market cap over the past six sessions, which already makes it the worst August since 1998 (Russia's ruble crisis, which led to the crash of Long Term Capital Management).

Also, the cumulative gain from the end of 2013 to Tuesday's close is down to 1.04%. And that doesn't even account for inflation.

8:51 am | Euro under pressure | by Chiara Albanese

The euro is starting to feel the pinch of a investors’ gloomy perspectives on global growth prospects. The single currency, which has been trading in opposite ranges to global stocks in recent weeks, is down 1.3% against the dollar, now trading at 1.1369. As European stocks pare earlier losses, the dollar is gaining against most currencies. It is up almost 1% against the yen and 0.7% against the pound and the Swiss franc. It is also stronger against emerging market currencies like the ruble, now trading at 69.60 against the dollar.

8:48 am | Strategists lower year-end targets | by Kristen Scholer

Amid the market volatility the past several sessions, two strategists have lowered their year-end price targets for the S&P 500.

Dubravko Lakos-Bujas, a strategist at J.P Morgan Chase & Co., trimmed his year-end view by 100 points to 2150 from 2250, citing technical deterioration and continued strength in the U.S. dollar. Throughout the six-day losing streak, he was the only strategist of the 21 followed by Birinyi Associates to cut his 2015 forecast. If the large-cap S&P index does end at 2150, that would mark a 4.4% gain on the year. As of Tuesday's close, the S&P 500 was down 9.3% for 2015.

Craig Johnson, a technical market strategist at Piper Jaffray and one that Birinyi does not follow, back pedaled on his year-end target for the S&P 500 Monday when he slashed his 2015 view by 215 points to 2135 from 2350. “We no longer believe the odds are in our favor for the S&P 500 to reach our prior target of 2,350 by year-end, since history shows that recoveries from pullbacks/corrections have generally taken about two to four months to materialize,” he wrote. Mr. Johnson is now calling for a 3.7% gain on the year.

8:42 am | What hath HFT wrought? | by Paul Vigna

Can the market cause a recession?

The stock answer (no pun intended) is no. Markets don't cause recessions. Markets reflect conditions. The market can be a warning beacon, like it was in 2000, or it can completely miss it, like it did through most of 2008. But it doesn't actually cause the recession.

Is this new, HFT-driven market different though? That's something Ed Yardeni is thinking about in the midst of this month's rout, and the role the HFT shops have played in it:

"HFT firms are made for days like Monday. The question is: do they make days like Monday? I suspect that they contribute greatly to these flash-crash type of days. If so, then they distort the market’s price signaling mechanism, raising fears that the market is telling us that something wicked this way comes.

"I’ve often observed that bear markets are caused by recessions. However, days like the past few raise fears that a bear market might cause a recession, which would turn the bear market into another Great Crash and the recession into a depression.

"If the recent stock market selloff was exacerbated by high-frequency trading HFT, then this too shall pass, as previous flash crashes have passed."

Ultimately, he doesn't really think the HFT shops are going to cause a recession, nor does he think one is coming otherwise. But is skeptical about the real value HFT provides to the markets. "Proponents of HFT claim that their activities increase market liquidity. That doesn’t jibe with the action of the past few days, which saw volatility soar as liquidity dried up, particularly early in Monday’s trading day."

8:41 am | Déjà vu? | by Kristen Scholer

With added gains in U.S. stock futures following the better-than-expected July durable goods report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are set to open up 385 and 45 points, respectively. This is a close replica to the pre-market action Tuesday before stocks jumped almost 3% in the beginning of the session, but ended the day off a little worse than 1%.

Over in Europe, major indexes are mixed. On Tuesday, they had been mostly in the green at this point.

8:36 am | 5 Things We’ve Learned From the Global Stock Market Selloff

As market volatility shows no signs of easing up anytime soon, Moneybeat looks at what we have learned from the instability, from China to copper markets.

8:34 am | Durable goods hit the tape | by Anna Louie Sussman and Eric Morath

Just hitting the tape: the U.S. durable goods data from the Commerce Department.

New orders for durable goods – products designed to last at least three years, like refrigerators and fighter jets – rose a seasonally adjusted 2% in July from a month earlier, suggesting improving optimism among businesses.

June durable goods orders rose a revised 4.1% compared with the previously estimated 3.4% increase.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected overall orders to rise 0.1%.

8:29 am | Checking on the futures | by Erik Holm

With an hour to go before the U.S. open, stock futures are pointing higher. Dow futures are up 288. S&P are 36 points higher. Nasdaq is up 83.

Of course, they were bright green at this time yesterday, too. And you saw how that ended.

8:16 am | Wednesday's econ calendar: durables, Dudley | by Paul Vigna

The data calendar is pretty skimpy for Wednesday, meaning the market will likely be stuck trading on its own internal momentum for the most part. But there is one item on the docket that has real potential to move markets.

We’ve already gotten the weekly mortgage applications report, which came out at 7 a.m. New York time. The composite index rose 0.2% from a week ago, purchases were up 1.7% and refis were down 1%.

At 8:30 a.m., we get the July durable good reports. This one is important, but so volatile that it’s hard to make much of any one month’s numbers. If Boeing sells a couple of planes, or a few orders fall through, this one goes off the rails. That said, consensus is for a modest 0.1% gain.

At 10:30, the weekly crude-oil stocks report hits the Tape. Given the precarious nature of the oil market right now, this one actually carries a fair amount of weight. Consensus is for a 300,000-barrel build on oil stocks, with gasoline stocks seen falling 1.1 million barrels. We’ll see.

Oh, oh, yeah, almost forgot to mention it. One other little item, hardly worth your time. Just a press briefing for reporters. Over at the New York Fed. With William Dudley. It’s officially a briefing on the regional economy. So, like, if you want to know about the state of the solar-panel industry in Buffalo, you’ll want to pay attention to this one. Otherwise, it surely won’t be worth your while. Course not. Can’t imagine what else he might talk about.

8:13 am | Base metals in decline | by Ese Erheriene

Copper, and other base metals, were much lower in London on Wednesday, after new stimulus measures announced by the Chinese central bank failed to stem fears over the country’s economy and future demand prospects and risk-averse investors sold down their positions.

The London Metal Exchange’s three-month copper contract was down 2.7% at $4,929.50 a metric ton in afternoon European trading, heading back below the psychologically important $5,000 mark during the session.

8:10 am | "The Fed will not throw a match into the fire" | by WSJ Staff

From Fed reporter Jon Hilsenrath, in a front-page story today:

Before this week’s turmoil, Fed officials had signaled they might move as soon as next month to start lifting their benchmark interest rate from near zero, where it has been since December 2008. It was shaping up to be a tough decision even before the stock-market corrections around the globe. Now, the odds of a rate increase in September appear to have diminished, though a move is still possible if markets stabilize and new economic data show the U.S. economy is strengthening despite threats abroad.

New reports on Tuesday showed increases in U.S. consumer confidence and new home sales in August and July, respectively, reasons for Fed officials not to become too glum about the U.S. outlook.

“Prior to these market events in the last few days, I thought that this was about as close to a 50/50 call as you can get,” said former Fed Vice Chairman Alan Blinder of the odds that the central bank would raise U.S. rates in September. If markets don’t stabilize, he said, the Fed would likely hold off on a rate increase.

“If the markets are in anything close to the sort of tizzy they have been in the last few days, then the Fed will not throw a match into the fire” when it meets September 16-17, said Mr. Blinder, a Princeton University professor and friend of Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

More from the story here.

8:06 am | They're really taking this hard over at the Oriental Daily News | by Paul Vigna

I thought our front page today was pretty dramatic, with that really well-done graphic that shows the depths of this five-day plunge. But it's nothing compared to this:

Wow! Hong Kong media declare China is already in economic crisis and its impact will be like "nuclear explosion"... pic.twitter.com/qQqLYepLpT

— George Chen (@george_chen) August 26, 2015

You don't need an advanced degree in languages to know what that's saying. Here's a Google translation page of the article from the Oriental Daily News, which uses words like "nuclear" and "economic abyss." Now, the Oriental Daily is a tabloid, and being, ah, somewhat familiar with the format here in New York, we know they're given to hyperbole. So, let's not get crazy. After all, we survived 2008. But that is quite the colorful front page, that's for sure.

8:01 am | Revisiting Monday's mayhem | by Erik Holm

Meanwhile, our colleagues elsewhere at the Journal have some excellent coverage that attempts to explain what happened to ETFs at Monday's open. On the front page of today's paper, we write that there were some significant flaws exposed in the new architecture of Wall Street, where stock-linked funds—as much as shares themselves—now trade en masse on U.S. markets.

Many traders reported difficulty buying and selling exchange-traded funds, a popular investment in which baskets of stocks and other assets are packaged to facilitate easy trading. Dozens of ETFs traded at sharp discounts to their net asset value—or their components’ worth—leading to outsize losses for investors who entered sell orders at the depth of the panic.

You can read that here.

Also, in a separate MoneyBeat post, we offer some examples of what it looked like to the traders on the front lines.

Mr. Tuttle, whose firm manages $200 million, said the prices of many of the ETFs that his firm typically buys were down 30% on the open and for at least the first half hour of trading. That “makes absolutely no sense,” he said.

That's available here.

7:50 am | Another attempt at a rally in New York | by Paul Vigna

Good morning from an unseasonably cool New York. Looks like they're gonna give this thing another shot.

Dow futures are up about 260 points. S&P 500 futures are up 32 points. After Tuesday's stunning midday reversal, though, we doubt anybody feels particularly comfortable with those numbers, green as they are.

And there isn't necessarily a lot of confirmation coming from other markets. China lost ground again. Europe is mixed. The U.S. 10-year Treasury note's yield is at 2.11%, virtually the same place it was yesterday afternoon. Crude oil is up marginally, 0.4% higher at $39.47. The euro is down 1% against the dollar.

Yesterday's reversal showed that this market is starting to panic, and at that point, it's impossible to know where this is going, though panic doesn't usually lead to best decision-making.

"Panic is an emotion," Cumberland Advisors' David Kotok wrote. "And in its raw form it triggers irrational behavior. Indicators of panic are visible in this last few day’s market action. When we hear clients say 'Sell all,' we know panic is at work."

7:47 am | Checking in on sugar | by Katherine Dunn

Meanwhile, sugar is relatively unaffected by the turmoil in the equities market -- but currency pressures in Brazil and Thailand are proving hard to beat, says Nick Penney at Sucden.

"Whilst the macro picture improved, aided in part by a cut in Chinese interest rates and a lowering of banks' capital requirements to try and halt the decline in capital markets, sugar was relatively unaffected," Mr. Penney says.

However, weakness in the Brazilian real continues to put pressure on prices. Currency weakness in Thailand, another major producer, is also keeping the picture bearish, he adds.

In London, white sugar futures for October delivery were recently down 0.2% at $339.00 a metric ton.

7:45 am | Checking in on the other precious metals | by Ese Erheriene

Palladium prices, meanwhile, hovered just $4 above a second consecutive five-year low, as oversupply from South Africa, falling auto sales in China and frayed investor nerves prompted selloffs. Spot palladium is down 6% this week, though it edged up 0.1% to trade at $5,35.70 an ounce.

Among the other precious metals, spot silver was trading down 0.9% at $14.530 an ounce and spot platinum was trading up 0.8% at $978 an ounce.

7:44 am | Gold lower as market digests China rate cut | by Ese Erheriene

Gold prices were lower on the London spot market Wednesday, confusing some market participants who believed that an interest-rate cut in China and current market volatility should be benefiting the yellow metal.

The falls pushed some analysts to conclude that gold's recent rally was exaggerated by speculative investors covering short positions and that the metal is now set for further losses.

Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,134.62 a troy ounce in midmorning European trade, after hitting a four-day low earlier in the session at $1,133 an ounce. The yellow metal declined for the second consecutive session, losing $20 in the process.

"The rally we saw over the last couple of weeks is, to my mind, over and done for the time being, and I would once again look to sell rallies in gold above $1,150 an ounce," David Govett, a precious metals analyst at Marex Spectron, said in a note.

7:19 am | Halfway Point in Europe | by Josie Cox

It’s shortly after midday in Europe and most country indexes are still firmly in negative territory.

The Stoxx Europe 600 is down 0.7%, London’s FTSE 100 is off 0.6%, France’s CAC is down 0.4% and Germany’s DAX has lost 0.5%.

In the U.S. futures contrast point to a 1.9% opening gain for the S&P 500. Future contracts, however, do not always accurately predict moves after the opening bell.

7:11 am | Emerging Market Fund Managers ‘Struggling to Buck Trend’

Emerging markets are having a torrid time of it thanks to slowing a Chinese economy and falling commodities prices. So too are the European money managers whose job it is to invest their clients’ money in countries from China to Brazil, regardless of whether these markets are buoyant or sinking. Here is a round-up of the damage to the major funds.

7:00 am | ‘Chinese Black Monday’ Versus ‘The Taper Tantrum’

The last time emerging markets went into free-fall was in 2013. Back then, the U.S. Federal Reserve sparked an investor flight from emerging markets by raising the prospect of ending its bond-buying program. It also coined a new phrase in the process: the Taper Tantrum.

But how does Taper Tantrum compare to the latest crisis? We compare the market shakedowns.

6:38 am | Cheap Valuations “Not Enough" | by Josie Cox

Heinz Ruettimann, emerging markets analyst at Julius Baer, write in a note to clients that Chinese authorities need to “convince investors that they are back in the driving seat and able to manage the economy” in order to restore stability in the market. “Cheap valuations are not enough to turn sentiment,” he adds.

6:21 am | Blackstone is Hunting for China Property

Blackstone Group LP is looking for buying opportunities in China’s commercial property market amid slowing growth and market turbulence. Read more about the private equity giant’s plans.

5:44 am | Milan Stocks Head South | by Giovanni Legorano

Milan's FTSE MIB index is down 1.4% at 21,356 in morning trading, weighed by continued losses on China's equity markets and following the weak close on Wall Street overnight. "Today's declines indicate a widespread lack of confidence on the Chinese central bank's ability to stop the selloff," says a trader. Another trader says that data on U.S. durable goods sales could have a positive impact on markets if they will be above market expectations. Almost all Italian stocks are in negative territory.

5:31 am

#China hard landing would slow but not curtail #UK expansion. Low trade exposure limits impact http://t.co/9MAM93xqDt pic.twitter.com/x5bpkYzfAK

— Oxford Economics (@OxfordEconomics) August 26, 2015

5:21 am | Hasenstab: China’s Currency Depreciation Not A Shock For Global Markets | by Chiara Albanese

The recent renminbi depreciation should not be an enormous shock to global markets, says one of the most famous U.S. bond investors.

Even if China’s currency depreciation caused a sharp increase in volatility, “we don’t believe it will fundamentally amplify currency depreciation across Asian or emerging market currencies over the longer term,” says Michael Hasenstab, chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton Investment bond strategies.

Accordingly, currencies of Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore should not suffer a significant depreciation against the dollar.

5:16 am | RBC Analayst Picks 16 European Buys For Today | by Josie Cox

The global equity team at Royal Bank of Canada has published a note on Wednesday in which analysts from 16 sectors each select one stock that they would recommend buying despite the ongoing market turmoil. The list is as follows: Adidas, Amerisur, BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty, Compass, Diageo, Enel, Geberit, H&M, Lloyds banking Group, LSE, Munich Re, Numericable, Petra Diamonds, Ryanair and Voestalpine.

4:46 am | Investors Need a Cunning Plan | by Chiara Albanese

Investor psychology is being shaken up by China’s markets selloff. “Markets want to hear from China a plan on how they can orchestrate two things,” says Thomas Flury, head of currency strategy for UBS wealth management. The first is how the slowdown is going to be managed and the second is how China will open the market to more international trade flows, he says. “This needs to be orchestrated without too many disruptions,” he says.

4:25 am | BAML Says More Cuts To Come | by Josie Cox

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists write in a note published Wednesday that they “expect the [Chinese] government will introduce further policy easing measures to stabilize both growth and financial markets, as economic growth remains weak.” They say that they believe “full liberalization of the deposit rates are likely to be introduced in the near future.”

4:12 am | What Next? Go Back to 1999 - Deutsche Bank | by Giles Turner

Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid has gone back to the future in his morning note. He has noted that the recent performance of the Shanghai Composite mirrors that of the Nasdaq in 1999.

So much so, that Mr. Reid says the Nasdaq has been "like having a stock almanac for the recent Chinese experience. It reminds me of Back to the Future II where Biff steals the time machine to take a sports almanac back to his younger self in order to make millions betting on these events. A great film. Although having only watched it recently again, I was amused to note it largely takes place in 2015 and everyone has flying cars. So perhaps the pace of technical change is not as great as was anticipated back in the eighties!"

3:53 am

Is China running out of ammunition to calm stock market? Mon pol easing, suspended IPO, sales ban and national team didn't help. What more?

— Amy Yuan Zhuang, CFA (@AmyYuanZhuang) August 26, 2015

3:39 am | Dollar Unlikely to Go Back to ¥125 | by Hiroyuki Kachi

Many currency dealers and analysts in Tokyo believe the U.S. dollar won't go back to ¥125 where it was, briefly, just two weeks ago. "We are closely monitoring what [U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley] Fischer is going to say" about the timing of possible rate increases at an annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., later this week, said Minori Uchida, head of Tokyo global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. But with worries about China causing tension in the financial markets, it is unlikely that the dollar will try ¥125, even assuming hawkish comments by Mr. Fischer, who is scheduled to deliver inflation remarks on Saturday, he said. "Global stocks will likely get support if the Fed signals it will push back any rate raise until next year," said IG Securities market analyst Junichi Ishikawa. While any recovery in risk sentiment will likely increase selling pressure on the yen, receding expectations for a Fed rate increase will likely intensify the dollar selling. This could leave the dollar to trapped in a ¥118-¥122 range for the rest of year. The U.S. dollar was recently at ¥119.51, compared with ¥118.86 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell about 5% against the Japanese currency on Monday.

3:17 am | Investors Troll China Bargain Bin With Stock Connect | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

In spite of all the volatility, some investors are still finding bargains in mainland Chinese markets.

During the past three days, global investors put 29.3 billion yuan ($4.57 billion) into Chinese stocks through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, a trading link between the two cities. Those are the largest sustained inflows in six months. Today’s inflows totaled 7.5 billion yuan.

3:12 am | European Stocks Fall at Open | by Josie Cox

European stocks opened lower Wednesday after rallying Tuesday. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 was down 2.1% a few minutes after opening, London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.6%, Germany’s DAX was off 2.0% and France’s CAC fell 2.0%. The Stoxx Europe 600 is around 12% lower so far in August.

3:09 am | Shanghai Closes Down 1.3%

After a volatile day of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.3% at 2927.29. The Shenzhen Composite fell 3.1% to 1695.76 and the ChiNext ended 5.1% down at 1890.04.

3:05 am | 10-Year Treasury Yield Inching Higher | by Josie Cox

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note trades at 2.10% in early European trade, slightly higher on the day. Investors sold out of ultrasafe U.S. government bonds Tuesday as riskier assets stabilized from an earlier rout. Yields rise as Treasury prices fall. On Monday, the yield tumbled below the 2% mark for the first time since April.

2:49 am | PBOC Move to Be Mildly Negative for Commercial Lenders | by Chuin-Wei Yap

The PBOC’s double-barreled policy move late Tuesday will have a mildly negative impact on the country's commercial lenders, Credit Suisse said. On the one hand, the central bank largely freed most deposit rates from state control, pressuring banks' profits downward by 3.5% for every gain of 0.06% in the interest rate they pay depositors. On the other hand, a 0.5% cut in the amount of reserves banks need to hold at the central bank means banks' profits could rise by nearly 1% in 2016, Credit Suisse analyst Sanjay Jain said. "We remain positive on banks on the expectation of further support," he said.

2:47 am | Indonesia's Central Bank to the Rescue ... Again | by I-Made Sentana

2:42 am | Shanghai Keeps 'Em Guessing Down to the Wire | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

The Shanghai Composite is proving a nail-biter ahead of the close. The index was last up 0.7%, but the past 30 minutes has seen sharp rises and falls. Shenzhen has long since capitulated, down 0.8%, and the ChiNext is off 2.7%.

“Even if the market was calm in the morning, there was clearly some anxiety among investors with a lot of market players apparently staying away from the market,” says Gerry Alfonso, director of trading at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities. That changed in the afternoon, with more signs of buyers returning. “After that initial stable phase, investors seemed to start regaining some confidence.”

2:10 am | Bargain-Hunters on the Prowl in India | by Shefali Anand

Bargain-hunters have been stepping in to buy Indian stocks at lower values. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty stock indexes, which had opened lower Wednesday, rise more than 0.3% by late morning. Investors continue to believe that India’s economic prospects are strong, so many see declines in the market as an opportunity. “We believe every panic will be bought into,” says Hemant Kanawala, head of equities at Kotak Life Insurance, a Mumbai-based insurance firm. He says, however, that there won’t be a rush of money into India just yet. “In uncertain times, you may want to phase out your buying,” says Mr. Kanawala.

2:08 am | Nikkei Closes Higher

The Nikkei in Japan closed up 3.2% at 18376.83 and logged its largest percentage-point gain since Oct. 31. South Korea's Kospi closed up 2.57%.

1:56 am | India Bonds Stabilize | by Shefali Anand

India’s bond market stabilizes Wednesday after two volatile sessions earlier in the week, as investors conclude that the Indian economy isn’t likely to be hurt much by China. The yield on the benchmark government 10-year bond fell about 0.9% Wednesday to 7.81%, around where it was early Monday before markets reacted to the global rout. Analysts note that a sharper-than-expected slowdown in China is likely to lead to lower commodity prices, which helps India because it is a large importer. “Things may be bad globally, but they are not as bad for India,” a fund manager with a Mumbai-based insurance company said.

1:52 am | China's Version of the Stock Rout | by Chao Deng

What stock crash?

Check out the homepage of state news agency Xinhua today, which makes no reference to the big selloff in Chinese shares. (Link in Chinese)

The top headline is about building a prosperous society in Tibet. Lower, a subtitle says, “Turmoil in Global Financial Markets.”

China’s official narrative of what happened in recent days is that fears about the U.S. rate increase and uncertainty about an economic recovery world-wide has caused global selling. One article actually quotes an analyst saying that since the 2008 global financial crisis, China is “becoming a ‘stabilizer’ of the global economy.” (Link in Chinese)

It says up top: “Market watchers describe [the turmoil] as “panic,” and note that the risks may be exaggerated even though this is related to global economic fundamentals.”

1:48 am

Equity mkts now rising across Asia despite horrible finish to US session. Good signal. Asia is increasingly leading global financial prices

— Warren Hogan (@anz_warrenhogan) August 26, 2015

1:44 am | Market Jitters Aren't Gone in Korea | by Kwanwoo Jun

South Korea's stock market is feeling less heat from China’s market turmoil, but jitters aren’t totally gone, Korea Investment & Securities senior strategist Park So-yeon says. "Still lingering in investors minds are concerns about the fundamentals of China's economy," Ms. Park said. Korea's benchmark Kospi extended gains for a second day on Wednesday, with the index up 2.5% shortly before the day’s close. On Tuesday, the index finished 0.9% higher.

1:38 am | Volatility Looms Large in Asia | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Even though China is rallying, and the rest of Asia-Pacific with it, traders are still feeling tense.

“It still feels as though volatility can break out at any time and a quick 1-2% move in U.S. futures, Nikkei, ASX 200 or Hang Seng could materialize at any time,” says IG chief market strategist Chris Weston.

“Many market participants cannot even pinpoint one specific reason for the elevated volatility. In saying that, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is blaming the strong selling being seen on potential tightening from the Federal Reserve, while most Asian emerging market nations are blaming the volatility on the Chinese actions. If traders haven’t got a firm grip on the key catalysts, then this is clearly echoed by the policy makers as well!”

1:26 am | Why China's Easing Hasn't Impressed Investors | by P.R. Venkat

“The People’s Bank of China cut its benchmark lending rate and reserve requirement ratio yesterday. And as I look at the screen – a few greens, a few reds. In short, the market was not impressed,” Lim Say Boon, Chief Investment Officer, DBS Bank Ltd. says in a note. Why the tepid response? Because interest rate cuts can’t stimulate consumption.

Rather, Chinese investors watching the rates on their savings fall might hold back on spending to offset lower interest payment on their deposits, he says. The Chinese are big savers, and set aside as much as 50% of their disposable income, according to the World Bank.

In other economies, cutting the amount of deposits banks are required to hold can boost growth as credit becomes cheaper. These measures haven’t been as effective in China over the past year.

“The problem in China is investment had been dominated by the state and state-owned companies. So this component is driven by policy rather than the ‘animal spirits’ of the private sector which might be stimulated by cheaper and more available credit,” he says.

The market is waiting for the “big bazooka” of government spending, Mr. Lim says. But officials are still wrestling with the hangover of China’s last “bazooka” of cheap credit, which saddled banks with non-performing loans and led to higher debt-to-GDP levels.

1:20 am | Shine on Industrial Metals Wore Through Pretty Quickly | by Biman Mukherji

Commodities investors, don't get too comfortable: After a brief reprieve, prices of industrial metals have started sliding again. China’s central bank’s easing moves reeled copper, aluminum and other metals from multiyear lows. But few think the cut to interest rates and banks' reserve ratio will be enough to really get the Chinese building and buying again. Three-month aluminum futures on the London Metal Exchange are down 0.8% from the opening price at $1,543/ton, while copper futures have slipped 0.4% to $5,019/ton.

1:20 am

Stock buyers worship bull over bear statue in E China; others smile at "the classic position" http://t.co/mD95uqHPDA pic.twitter.com/sWAeqxRQI5

— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 24, 2015

1:18 am | Bull or Bear? As China Stocks Tumble, One Man Pins Hopes on a Statue | by Te-Ping Chen and Olivia Geng

China Real Time reports about Cai Mingchao, who suggests that given all the market turmoil, the country would be wise to stop airing TV programs featuring bears, lest they adversely affect local animal spirits.

1:13 am | Investors Feast After Lunch | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

China starts rallying sharply after lunch. The Shanghai Composite rises 3% to 3054.97, while the Shenzhen market is up 1.6% at 1777.48.

1:11 am

Fascinating chart showing the strong correlation between the Shanghai Composite Index and a map of Virginia pic.twitter.com/OB48meLC67

— Daniel Lin (@DLin71) August 26, 2015

1:09 am

Euro calls - FTSE at 6021 +60, DAX 9977 +151, CAC 4506 +58, IBEX 9963 +152, MIB 21201 +448. Boom, bulls all over this

— Chris Weston (@ChrisWeston_IG) August 26, 2015

1:09 am | Japan Tumble Would Increase Pressure on BOJ | by Eleanor Warnock

A tumble in Tokyo share prices will increase pressure on the Bank of Japan to implement additional easing and shore up the increase to household incomes from higher equity prices, says Jesper Koll, CEO of WisdomTree Japan. "The wealth effect is exactly what gets you going here," he says. "The pressure on the Bank of Japan is going to start to increase irrespective of the wage dynamic." He says the BOJ could frame additional easing as necessary to achieve inflation amid falling global demand and commodity prices. Mr. Koll adds that the BOJ could choose to buy more ETFs or municipal bonds in addition to the national government bonds it currently buys as part of an expanded easing program.

1:04 am | Nikkei Extends Gains in Afternoon

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average has extended its gains and is currently up 3%.

12:58 am | Rupee Could Slip Further | by Shefali Anand

India’s rupee slips further on Wednesday to 66.28 per U.S. dollar, from 66.10 at the end of the day on Tuesday. The currency has fallen nearly 4% against the dollar this month and some believe it could go down to 68 or 70 rupees per dollar in the coming days, which would be its lowest level ever.

12:54 am | PBOC Researcher: Don't Blame Us for Turmoil | by William Kazer

Don’t blame us for global market turmoil, a Chinese central bank researcher says. It’s the Fed’s fault. That was the take on swooning markets from Yao Yudong, head of the People's Bank of China's Research Institute of Finance, who was quoted as saying that the expected rate increase next month is the trigger for wild market swings. He also offered some advice for the U.S. Fed--stay patient on raising interest rates, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. Xinhua did mention that many analysts have linked the latest bout of market volatility to the devaluation of China's currency by about 2% earlier this month. While the currency move by the Chinese central bank was aimed in part at helping China's sluggish exports, it was also seen by many analysts outside the country as an indication of deeper problems within the Chinese economy. Many analysts have suggested the yuan could weaken further, though China's Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday that there was no foundation for a long-term devaluation.

12:50 am

Caijing reporter wang Xiaolu accused of faking and spreading fake stock news and now being investigated - Xinhua

— Wei Gu (@weigu) August 26, 2015

12:43 am | Four Eccentric Ways Chinese Investors Wish for a Bull Market

12:42 am | Big Mama's Rally-What to Buy

12:39 am | China Isn't the Only Worry for Oil Markets | by Eric Yep

There's more to declining oil market sentiment than China, oil traders say. Traders are worried that oil prices have further to fall and Tuesday's minor rebound could just be a "dead-cat bounce" before another round of liquidation. That's because oil-market sentiment could nosedive again as the bad news isn't just coming from China, a Singapore-based trader said. A big concern is how oil producing countries hurt by low prices are abandoning their currency pegs against the U.S. dollar. Kazakhstan was forced to devalue the tenge last week and while markets are watching for any moves from Saudi Arabia, traders are worried the Nigerian naira could be next. And the pain just keeps getting worse for oil producers. Traders were spooked when Mexico hedged oil exports for 2016 at an average price of $49 a barrel last week. This is 36% lower than the 2015 hedge. Mexico runs one of the largest state-run hedging programs. Moreover, recent rhetoric from Iran's oil minister signals a new price war between Iran and Saudi Arabia is in the works as Iran fights to regain market share. Many oil traders were well prepared for Monday's selloff and managed to dodge the bullet, but whether they can survive another wipeout is doubtful, the trader said.

12:31 am | Thai Stocks Open Slightly Higher | by Nopparat Chaichalearmmongkol

Thailand’s main stock market opened slightly higher Wednesday morning, following China’s Tuesday move to ease monetary policy. The Stock Exchange of Thailand’s composite index edged up 0.29% during midmorning trade.

12:30 am | Vietnam Stocks Rebound | by Vu Trong Khanh

Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index continued to rebound Wednesday, rising 1.81% to 539.58 after closing up 0.57% on Tuesday. However, the index is still 15.5% below its July 14 high of 638.7.

12:22 am | Market Unimpressed by Shanghai Rally | by Gregor Stuary Hunter

China’s market has paused for lunch with the Shanghai Composite 0.8% higher after the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates, but the lack of conviction in the gains is palpable.

“As I look at the screen--a few greens, a few reds,” said Lim Say Boon, chief investment officer at DBS Bank. “In short, the market was not impressed.”

Why not? Mr. Lim makes the argument that rate cuts hurt more than help the Chinese economy because of the country’s high savings rate. Previous rate cuts have sparked explosive rallies, but the Chinese economy has continued to sag.

“You can’t stimulate consumption via interest rate cuts. At least not in Asia anyway. Now, you might get a bit of movement if you did that in the U.S. or indeed, Australia. But Chinese consumers are not going to say: ‘Hey, my credit card interest rate just went down 0.5%, let me go out and buy a new TV set on credit.’ What is more likely to happen is the consumer is going to say: ‘Hmm, my savings deposit will earn me a bit less now, so I better spend a bit less and save a bit more to offset that.’ Counterproductive.”

The argument goes that until the government steps in with fresh investment, this negative loop is likely to continue, he says.

The last time the Chinese government tried to spend its way out of trouble was after the global financial crisis. Unfortunately, the legacy of bad debt from that period is viewed by many as the original sin that has brought us to the present day.

12:18 am | India Shares Can't Fight the Negative Tide | by Shefali Anand

Indian markets are unable to hold out against the negative trends globally, despite ending the day higher Tuesday. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty indexes open more than 1% lower, thanks partly to cues from the U.S. where the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new 52-week low Tuesday. The lower opening for the Sensex comes as a surprise to some analysts who had hoped that China’s rate cut would provide a boost locally.

12:16 am

China's stock crash means that the Shanghai Composite is only up 20% since last November when Beijing began easing (5 rate cuts, 3 RRR cuts)

— Chao Deng (@Chao_Deng) August 26, 2015

12:15 am | China’s Economic Data Invites Mistrust and Unease

12:11 am

NZD jiving to the beat of Chinese equities. Up, down, sideways; who knows we're they'll finish? Currency liquidity still at a premium ^TK

— ASB Markets (@ASBMarkets) August 26, 2015

11:53 pm | Chinese Firms Listed in Hong Kong Look Like a Good Deal--HSBC | by Yvonne Lee

If there's a bright spot in the latest market spasms, it's Hong Kong's H-shares, which are looking supercheap. Hong Kong’s China Enterprises Index, a gauge of H-shares, or Chinese companies listed in the city, is trading at 5.7 times forward price to earnings, or just 4% higher than the 2011 market bottom and 16% higher than the 2008 trough. "We think now is a good entry point for long-term China investors in terms of H-share prices, although short-term volatilities may continue," says HSBC. The index is up 0.8% at 9588.28.

11:52 pm

NZX50 falling back in afternoon trading. Good results from @EBOSGroupLtd and Metlifecare not enough to change negative sentiment.

— Grant Davies (@G_T_Davies) August 26, 2015

11:51 pm | Shanghai Traders Can Enjoy Their Lunch | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Traders in Shanghai can breathe easy on their lunch break: The Shanghai Composite staged a dramatic rally and was last up 0.8% at 2988.76, reversing an earlier loss of 3.9%. Shenzhen, however, remains down 0.2% and the ChiNext is off 1.3%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is flat, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index--which tracks Hong Kong listings of mainland companies--is up 0.9%. Some investors are encouraged that such shares trading more cheaply offshore--but this discount to the mainland market has narrowed to 22.5%, the lowest level since April, according to the Hang Seng China AH Premium Index.

11:43 pm | Craigs Calls Market Volatility Phenominal | by Rebecca Howard

Volatility in global markets continues to be phenomenal, marked by "ridiculous movements," says Craigs Investment Partners broker Bryon Burke. "It's anyone's guess how it plays out." He notes, however, that previously when there was major global turmoil interest rates were higher, which meant people tended to pull out of equities. He expects volatility to abate in particular given valuations are improving after the sharp drops, "providing new money coming into markets with slightly better prices."

11:38 pm | Tight Liquidity Could Magnify Yuan Moves | by Fiona Law

It’s summer, which means lots of cash is on the sidelines. That could make some moves in China’s offshore yuan, which trades freely in Hong Kong, look dramatic.

“The market is thin,” says a senior trader at a Hong Kong bank, so a small transaction could move the market. Liquidity has dried up as investors fleeing the orbit of China’s instability sell so-called dim sum bonds, or yuan-denominated bonds traded in Hong Kong, which has led to big outflows.

But those constraints are set to change. On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, injected liquidity into the market. That sent short-term borrowing rates in the offshore yuan to 2.4% from as high as 20% on Tuesday.

11:14 pm | China’s Premier Talks Up Yuan | by William Kazer

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said there is "no foundation" for a long-term depreciation of the nation's currency. The premier, apparently trying to ease market concerns about the yuan since Beijing’s 2% devaluation of the currency earlier this month, also said China is trying to improve its exchange-rate mechanism, which is in line with changes in global financial markets. He added that the currency move, which adjusted the daily reference rate for the yuan against the U.S. dollar, was a combination of reform and an adjustment to the exchange-rate mechanism. His remarks were posted on a government website.

11:05 pm | Hang Seng Falls | by Yvonne Lee

The Hang Seng Index is down 0.6% at 21,283 in spite of the People's Bank of China's Tuesday move to cut rates and reduce the amount of money banks need to hold in reserve.

10:58 pm | China Outstanding Margin Debt Falls | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Loans used to fund stock market purchases continued to shrink this week as the market tumbled, as the leveraged bets that fueled the Chinese equity rally earlier this year became a cause for forced selling.

Outstanding margin debt fell by 85.3 billion yuan ($13.3 billion) on Tuesday, the sixth consecutive day of declines, according to data from CEIC. Total balances stood at 1.16 trillion yuan, after a decrease of 229 billion yuan during the past two weeks.

10:51 pm | Shanghai Composite Falls Again | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

China’s Shanghai Composite is falling again and setting new session lows, dropping as much as 3.9% in the past few minutes before recovering slightly. The index was last down 3.4% at 2864.20. The Shenzhen market also tumbles 4%, having lost almost half its value--46.5% in all--since peaking in June.

10:32 pm | Yuan's Weakening Signals Investor Pessimism | by Fiona Law

The yuan is under selling pressure after China’s fifth interest rate cut since late last year erases any hopes of the currency’s strength.

The yuan in the onshore market stands at 6.4212 a dollar, a tad weaker than its Tuesday close at 6.4124 a dollar. That follows a softer yuan fixing by the PBOC early Wednesday. Each day, the central bank sets a midpoint, and lets the currency trade 2% above or below it.

The yuan has depreciated 3.5% against the dollar since the central bank devalued the currency on August 11.

In the offshore market, where the currency trades freely, the yuan is hovering at 6.4930 a dollar, a clear sign of foreign investors’ pessimism. That is weaker than 6.4660 a dollar where it was trading in late Asian session Tuesday, but stronger after losses overnight in New York trading. The offshore yuan has weakened 4.6% against the dollar since Beijing's devaluation.

10:32 pm | Strategists See Value in Australia Declines | by Robb M. Stewart

Even as Australian stocks tick lower again, equity strategists are pointing to what they see as diamonds in the rough. Monday's 4.1% dive by the S&P/ASX 200 was the sixth-largest pullback since the index was created in the early 1990s. That means stocks are now at below-average levels. That, says Credit Suisse's Hassan Tevfik and colleagues, has left some companies looking vulnerable to debt-financed buyers as free cash-flow yields rise and the cost of debt continues to fall. UBS strategists agree that signs of value are emerging as the ASX 200 shapes up for its worst month since 2008. The index has fallen 16% from its April 27 peak and is down 12% year-to-date, yet they say relative value appears as attractive as ever with a dividend yield of 5.3% across the market against a cash rate of 2%. UBS suggests that resources and bank stocks, which have led the recent selloff, are likely to be part of any market bounce. "Today will be one of those trading days when large moves in either direction are a real possibility," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, says, adding that the sharp swings in U.S. stocks overnight apparently unsettled local traders.

10:26 pm | Volatility Not Limited to China | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Less than an hour of trading has elapsed in China and it’s looking like a rocky day for traders on the mainland.

But the volatility isn’t confined to China: Japan’s Nikkei 225 has been up as much as 1.3% and down as much as 0.5%. Korea’s Kospi has seen the biggest swings outside of China, reversing a decline of 0.6% to rise as much as 1.3%, while the Australian S&P/ASX 200 clawed back losses of 1.7%; It last traded flat.

It may be a long day for investors in the rest of Asia-Pacific as well.

10:21 pm

Chinese equities don't exactly represent underlying macro-conditions. pic.twitter.com/dqITTNHBDF

— Michael McDonough (@M_McDonough) August 26, 2015

10:20 pm

Up or down, markets don't move in a straight line: they are not seamless, strong-efficient, rational, personal, discrete, circumscribable.

— Andrew Kassen (@andrewunknown) August 26, 2015

10:17 pm | Chinese Investors Responding to Economic Data? Now That's New | by Chao Deng

China’s stock market is notorious for rarely responding to economic data—the bull market that started last year came as the world's No. 2 economy was growing at its slowest pace in decades.

But IG’s Evan Lucas says that global investors are nevertheless using the Shanghai market to read what Chinese think of their own economy.

“If Chinese markets are irrational, then that says the Chinese are panicking about the output of their own economy.”

10:17 pm

Chart: China's overnight repo rates continue to rise as capital outflows offset PBoC liquidity injections - pic.twitter.com/PssCvDnI0f

— SoberLook.com (@SoberLook) August 26, 2015

10:14 pm | How Can China Best Hold Up Its Market? By Being the Buyer | by Dominique Fong

The only way that China can hold up its stock market is by direct intervention, which it has been scaling back recently, Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists say.

“From [a] real economy’s perspective, we doubt monetary loosening is the solution to China’s main problem--overcapacity, a lack of consumption, and leverage. All it does [is maybe] encourage property speculation, likely using more leverage,” they say in a note.

And a recent cut to the reserve-requirement ratio, the amount of deposits that China must hold on reserve, is expected to flood 700 billion yuan ($109 billion) into the banking system. A side effect of the release of new money is that the yuan could weaken further, the strategists say.

10:09 pm

China - a big reason why world trade growth is so weak. For more, read our latest blog: http://t.co/sS9Jjh7Ds1 pic.twitter.com/bA8DTdzEEP

— RBS Economics (@RBS_Economics) August 26, 2015

10:08 pm | Goldman Says PBOC Move Could Make a Difference | by Jacky Wong

Are cuts in interest rates and banks’ reserve-requirement ratios going to save the Chinese stock market? It didn’t work out last time. A-shares fell 3.3% on the day after the People’s Bank of China cut both interest rates and the RRR in June and fell a total of 10.4% in the week following. Yet Goldman Sachs believes things could be different this time. “The signaling effect could be stronger than in previous rate-cut episodes as this is the first explicit policy response since the Rmb devaluation, which is commonly cited as a key trigger for the global market declines,” it says. Goldman also thinks the current A-share market is technically oversold and the double-barreled cuts may spark foreign interest in the market. Goldman, however, thinks the cuts on their own are unlikely to kick off another rally.

10:03 pm | China Sets Yuan Weaker | by Ewen Chew

After the People's Bank of China set a weaker yuan benchmark rate Wednesday, as expected, the currency fell even further in the spot market. Today's dollar/yuan parity rate of 6.4043 represented a 0.1% depreciation of the yuan versus the dollar as compared with its last fixing of 6.3987, but the yuan fell as much as 0.3% versus its Tuesday close in the spot market. The spot dollar/yuan pair is allowed to fluctuate up to 2.0% from the daily benchmark rate. The weakness of the yuan follows expectations that the PBOC’s rate move would diminish the currency's value. The yuan's bigger fall in the spot market illustrates concern that the government's latest round of policy-easing measures means China's economic problems are indeed serious.

10:01 pm | China's Market Volatile in Early Trade--Surprise, Surprise | by Chao Deng

Less than half an hour into trading in Shanghai and stocks have already traded as high as 1.2% and as low as 2.3%. The benchmark is last about flat.

Some analysts and investors are saying that Tuesday’s moves by China’s central bank weren’t enough.

“They probably were not hard enough and strong enough to give the market a sign that they will support it in the next two three weeks, when things are going to get really volatile,” says Evan Lucas, market strategist at brokerage Singapore-based IG.

“They [also] haven’t outlined any specific measures to support the mainland market,” Mr. Lucas says.

9:59 pm

Offshore yuan now sees 3.8% devaluation in the next year, widened from 3% before after the China rate cut.

— Wei Gu (@weigu) August 26, 2015

9:56 pm | Time for Some Cheery Data: China's Shoppers Are Feeling Good | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

And now, some good news about China: Consumers are feeling better about spending. Despite the market rout, the Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Indicator improved in August to 116.5 from 114.5 in July, reaching its highest level since May 2014. The survey period doesn’t reflect the effects of the yuan devaluation or the Tianjin explosion.

“The unambiguously positive result in this month’s survey reaffirms our view that consumer conditions are well and truly on the mend following some weakness earlier in the year,” said MNI Indicators chief economist Philip Uglow. “The cumulative increase in recent months is confirmation that the majority of Chinese consumers have been left unscathed by the volatility in stock prices.”

Just in time for the Shanghai Composite to start rising again. The benchmark is last up 0.9% at 2991.71.

9:54 pm | Malaysia Ringgit Hits New 17-Year Low | by Ewen Chew

Malaysia's ringgit falls to a fourth consecutive 17-year low against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, despite hopes that China's rate cut would lift investor sentiment and help emerging market currencies. The dollar/ringgit rose as high as 4.3030 from its last close of 4.2100, according to a spot market trader.

9:49 pm

I wont be trading for the rest of this week. This is the kind of market that chews up new traders and spits them out in BULK.

— Assad Tannous (@AsennaWealth) August 26, 2015

9:44 pm

You could say investors are concerned about China... pic.twitter.com/NuH7LAwBvB

— Callum Thomas (@Callum_Thomas) August 25, 2015

9:40 pm | China Turns Down After Open; Nikkei Falls | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

Suddenly things are getting very ugly. If the People’s Bank of China had hoped to engineer a stock market revival, early signs are not good. The Shanghai Composite turns negative after just six minutes, last down 1.6% at 2,915.58.

The Shenzhen market is off 3.2% and the ChiNext has sunk 4.3%.

Meanwhile Japan’s Nikkei 225 has joined in, last down 0.1%. The Hang Seng Index sinks 1.3% after earlier gains.

9:33 pm

Just to be clear: PBOC rate/RRR cut may spark temporary rally, but will not "save" China stock market from further correction.

— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) August 25, 2015

9:30 pm | Shanghai Opens Slightly Up After PBOC Move

Shanghai opens up 0.5% at 2980.79 while Shenzhen and the ChiNext open down 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively.

9:27 pm

Wonder if he'll regret this today. pic.twitter.com/6FW9quKEBT

— Josh Noble (@JoshTANoble) August 26, 2015

9:26 pm | Hong Kong Mostly Up in Premarket | by Gregor Stuart Hunter

After the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates, Hong Kong’s premarket is mostly up. The Hang Seng Index gains 0.1% while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of mainland companies with Hong Kong listings, rises 0.8%.