The Nasdaq closed at a record on Wednesday, lifted by a climb in large-cap tech and consumer discretionary names, while the Dow and S&P 500 were hemmed in as concerns over an escalation in the U.S.-China trade skirmish simmered. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.17% to 24,657.8, the S&P 500 gained 0.17% 2,767.32 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.72% to 7,781.52.

The European Union will start charging import duties of 25% on 2.8 billion euros worth of U.S. products, including bourbon and motorbikes, as retaliation for levies implemented on EU steel and aluminum by U.S. at the start of June.

German automakers are proposing an end to the European Union's 10% import tax on U.S.-made cars.

However, Europe also wants a 25% tax on imported pickup trucks, SUVs and big vans scrapped. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda endorsed a Japanese government call for employers to raise wages by 3% a year -- far faster than the current pace -- to help the central bank meet its inflation target.

Argentina and Saudi Arabia will be included in MSCI Emerging Markets Index following the International Monetary Fund’s approval of a $50 billion financing deal for Argentina and the high anticipation over the market listing of Aramco, the state-controlled Saudi energy giant. The decisions will be effective beginning in mid-2019. MSCI will include the MSCI Kuwait Index in its classification review next year for a potential move from Frontier Markets to Emerging Markets.

A new blockchain ETF, Horizons Blockchain Technology and Hardware Index ETF, will begin trading Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, offering exposure to the infrastructure behind the disruptive technology. The ETF’s holdings include companies developing blockchain-related applications, like Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd., semiconductor firms like Nvidia Corp., and service providers like Digital Realty Trust Inc. South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb was temporarily suspending deposit and withdrawal services after about $30 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen.

Mexico’s billionaire Coppel family plans a $2 billion initial public offering of its conglomerate Grupo Coppel, making it the largest Mexican IPO since the local unit of Banco Santander offered shares in 2012.

Disney raised its offer for key assets of 21st Century Fox on Wednesday to $71.3 billion to counter a rival bid of $65 billion from Comcast in the latest move in a bidding war that could create a dominant player in the media-entertainment world.

Source: SGX Masnet, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, The Business Times, PSR