Mixed Markets

Spanish stocks bounced higher on Wednesday, as worries over the standoff between Catalonia and Madrid subsided as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stopped short of suspending Catalonia’s government Wednesday, though starting a process that could lead to that. Spain’s benchmark IBEX 35 Index jumped to a week-high, while the nation’s bonds gained even as core yields across Europe climbed. UK markets closed slightly lower however were within sight of fresh records.

U.S. stock benchmarks were seeing subdued activity Wednesday afternoon, with indexes trading in a narrow range as investors await the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, along with a ramp up for third-quarter corporate earnings season. Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced to the highest in almost twenty-one years.

US presidential threats

Shares of NBC-parent Comcast dipped slightly Wednesday after President Donald Trump tweeted about challenging the NBC network license. Comcast trading volume jumped and the shares fell to their lows of the morning immediately following the tweet. The tweet about network licenses followed Trump's 9:45 a.m., ET, tweet calling NBC News "fake" news for a story about U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Trump's tweet could raise fears of higher government scrutiny on Comcast, although networks are not licensed by any organization. The Federal Communications Commission requires licenses for individual radio and television stations. The stock was down 0.5 percent by late morning however Comcast shares are up about 8.5 percent for the year.

Strong results from BlackRock

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, reported better-than-expected third-quarter results on Wednesday. The company said cash assets rose 6 percent from a year earlier to $425.4 billion. Total assets under management rose 17 percent to nearly $6 trillion as net inflows easily beat Wall Street expectations. Shares of BlackRock traded 0.3 percent lower in the premarket.

The company's stock has been on fire this year, advancing 21.5 percent. By comparison, the overall S&P 500 is up about 14 percent in the period. BlackRock shares have also outperformed the financials sector, which is up 13 percent in 2017. Earlier this year, the company announced it would use more computers to pick stocks as part of its efforts to overhaul its active management business.