Global shares eased after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that U.S. rates had further room to rise. The dollar held steady against the pound ahead of the Bank of England's decision on monetary policy later today.
 
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei-225 fell 0.9 percent and Singapore's Straits Times slipped 0.1 percent. There was no trading in Hong Kong's Hang Seng and China's Shanghai Composite index on account of local holidays.
 
European markets were negative in intra-day trade. Germany's DAX declined 0.6 percent, London's FTSE-100 slipped 0.8 percent and France's CAC-40 was trading 1.2 percent down when reports last came in.