By Lauren Almeida

-- U.S. Treasury yields fall

-- Crude oil prices rise

Asian stocks mostly weakened Wednesday after President Trump's comments in a White House cabinet meeting signaled enduring tensions with China over trade and technology.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 switched between small losses and gains ahead of another day of major U.S. earnings.

Bank of America's results are due Tuesday and investors will want to know whether low interest rates have benefited its consumer business, as they have for other major U.S. banks. Netflix, eBay and Alcoa are due to report later in the day.

U.S. stocks fell from a record high Tuesday after Mr. Trump said the government would examine national-security concerns around Google's ties to China.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told an audience in Paris on Tuesday that the central bank is "carefully monitoring" downside risks to U.S. growth, strengthening expectations of an interest-rate cut.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys fell to 2.102% Wednesday from 2.124% Tuesday. Yields fall when bond prices rise. The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of peers, was flat.

Elsewhere, bitcoin fell by about 0.6%, trading below $10,000 for a second day as U.S. senators questioned Facebook over its proposed Libra cryptocurrency, highlighting the skepticism that digital-coin systems face from regulators.

Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, has lost almost a third of its value, according to prices from research site CoinDesk, after trading above $13,000 a week ago, which was near its high for the year.

The U.S. Commerce Department is set to release June housing starts data later Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect housing starts climbed 0.1% in June.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose by 0.8% to $64.85 a barrel. Gold was down by 0.6%.

Write to Lauren Almeida at lauren.almeida@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2019 05:38 ET (09:38 GMT)

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