Growth in China's June factory activity dipped to a four-month low on higher raw material costs, a shortage of semiconductors and a COVID-19 outbreak in the major export province of Guangdong, amid wider supply chain disruptions in Asia.

Major central banks maintained a dovish stance and kept rates low with a primary reason to support growth and not be much concerned about price rise. But US economy is booming and driving inflation higher. These events are pressing some central banks to increase interest rates, despite still-high levels of COVID-19 infections and incomplete economic recoveries in their own countries.

The White House is working on an antitrust executive order that aims to push government agencies to consider how their decisions will impact competition in an industry, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The order goes after corporate monopolies across a broad swath of industries ranging from banking to airlines, one of the sources said.

Germany's unemployment rate declined to 5.7 percent in June as Europe's biggest economy benefits from a sharp decline in coronavirus infections, official data showed Wednesday. The unadjusted jobless rate, the headline figure in Germany, dropped from 5.9 percent in May, the Federal Labor Agency said. The total number of people registered as unemployed stood at 2.61 million 73,000 fewer than the previous month and 239,000 fewer than a year earlier.