Wednesday Morning Cheat Sheet: 3 Stories Moving Markets

The markets were mixed in Asia on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei index was closed for a holiday. The Hang Seng increased 0.97 percent, while the S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.40 percent.

Investors seemed to be expressing tepid optimism in Europe, with major markets edging into green territory in mid-day trading. Germany’s DAX was up 0.54 percent, London’s FTSE was up just 0.02 percent, and the STOXX 50 was up 0.76 percent.

U.S. futures at 8:30 a.m.: DJIA: +0.50%, S&P 500: +0.55%, NASDAQ: +0.73%.

Here are three stories to keep an eye on:

1) After rejecting the controversial terms of a bailout package from the European Union, Cyprus has reportedly turned to Russia — from which untold sums of safe-haven deposits are thought to originate — to seek financial assistance. Cyprus is seeking as much as 5 billion euros ($6.44 billion) from Moscow while euro-zone finance ministers figure out how they can provide the nation liquidity within the existing regulatory architecture.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated that after rejecting the conditions of the bailout, it is up to Cyprus to put another proposal on the table. Government spokespeople for the island nation have said that a “Plan B” is in the works.