Reuters

World stocks clawed off two-month lows on Wednesday, though momentum was weak and U.S. futures suggested Wall Street could backslide again after rebounding from the biggest selloff in six years.

Asian share markets took back some of their earlier gains on Wednesday as investors were unnerved by a drop in U.S. stock futures, underscoring lingering anxiety following steep losses in global equities over the past few days.

Australia has given its financial regulator sweeping powers to cap bank bosses’ pays, delay their bonuses and even ban them from the industry if found guilty of non-compliance, as it scrambles to restore trust in the scandal-hit sector.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would “love” to see another government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked to reach a budget deal that would prevent federal agencies from having to close their doors this week.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives was set to vote on Tuesday on a short-term budget measure that would avert a rerun of last month’s three-day partial government shutdown, as lawmakers continued to grapple with divisive immigration measures.

The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in December to its highest level since 2008, as robust domestic demand pushed imports to a record high, potentially putting pressure on the Trump administration as it renegotiates trade deals.

Canada’s trade deficit unexpectedly ballooned to C$3.19 billion ($2.55 billion) in December as imports grew faster than exports for the second month in a row, data from Statistics Canada indicated on Tuesday.

World stock markets nosedived for a fourth day running on Tuesday, having seen $4 trillion wiped off from what just eight days ago had been record high values. Europe’s main bourses were down around 2 percent.

A rout in global equities deepened in Asia on Tuesday as inflation worries gripped financial markets, sending U.S. stock futures sinking further into the red after Wall Street suffered its biggest decline since 2011 in a vicious sell-off.

The dollar rose against a basket of currencies on Monday as U.S. bond yields rallied on safe-haven demand stemming from a dramatic selloff on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones at one point fell more than 1,500 points.