Natural Gas Market Update

March natural-gas futures NGH15, +1.97%  rose 14 cents, or 5%, to settle at $2.9740 per million British thermal units. That put an end to a three-session losing stretch for natural gas. Futures lost 10% on Tuesday.

Oil gets boost on hopes for Europe’s economy

Crude-oil futures rose Wednesday as news the European Central Bank is close to outlining a more aggressive stimulus package to boost Europe’s economy stoked hopes of more demand for crude.

Sweet crude futures for delivery in March CLH5, -0.84%   rose $1.31, or 2.8%, to settle at $47.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures ended Tuesday down 4.7%.

Brent crude for March delivery LCOH5, -0.41%  rose $1.04, or 2.2%, to finish at $49.03 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange, snapping a two-day losing streak. Brent settled 1.7% lower on Tuesday.

Silver Market Update

March silver futures SIH5, -0.26% meanwhile, advanced 24 cents, or 1.3%, to $18.19 an ounce in electronic trading.

High-grade copper for March delivery HGH5, -0.46%  rose 2 cents to settle at $2.61 a pound.

Gold loses steam above $1,300 as ECB stimulus measures loom

Gold lost some of its earlier momentum to snap a seven-day winning streak Wednesday, unable to defend its first foray above $1,300 an ounce since August.

Gold for February delivery GCG5, -0.12%  relinquished its earlier high to dip 50 cents to settle at $1,293.70 an ounce after settling at its highest price in five months Tuesday.

Current Market Update

 Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets: 

Tokyo (Nikkei Average NIK, -0.02% ) up 0.2% 

 Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.43% ) up 0.4% 

 Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.20% ) down 0.2% (at break) 

Sydney (S&P/ASX 200 XJO, +0.29% ) up 0.4%

 Seoul (Kospi SEU, +0.15% ) up 0.2% 

 Mumbai (Sensex 1, +0.50% ) up 0.4% 

 Taipei (Taiex Y9999, +0.34% ) up 0.4%