Bonds:

These were the biggest moves in some of the most widely-followed 10-year sovereign bond yields:

US: 2.52% (+5bp)

UK: 1.47% (+7bp)
Germany: 0.46% (+6bp)
France: 0.97% (+7bp)
Spain: 1.54% (+3bp)
Italy: 2.11% (+7bp)
Greece: 6.88% (-8bp)
Portugal: 3.99% (+12bp)

Gilts jumped on Wednesday following news Prime Minister Theresa May´s government would publish a White Paper on Brexit and following stronger than expected data on factory sector activity in the UK.

The Confederation of British Industry´s total orders balance jumped from a reading of 0 for December to +5, which was substantially above its long-term average, amid what economists described as "healthy" readings on domestic demand and a marked increase in a gauge of export orders, from -15 to -9.

On the flip side, a barometre of how many producers expected to raise prices over the following three months increased from +26 in December to +28 — the highest level since April 2011.

"This suggests that producer output price inflation will pick up to about 6% soon, from 2.7% in December, and will boost shop prices later this year. We doubt that order books will look as healthy as they do now after manufacturers have increased their prices sharply," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Acting as a backdrop, remarks from the new US President promising large tax cuts also weighed on government bonds.

No less relevant, Italian bond yields climbed sharply after the Italian Constitutional court ruled against a two-round voting system for the Lower House.

Analysts were left divided on the implications of the ruling, with many of the belief that it would lower the chances of being to form strong governments, although it did lower the chances of a populist government being able to rule.