European stocks rise the first day in four, with Asian stocks, S&P futures and the Dollar all gaining following strong Apple (AAPL) earnings ahead of today’s Fed decision and the U.K. parliament’s first vote on the Article 50 bill.

World stocks made their first gain in five days on Wednesday as the dollar steadied from turbulence after the Trump administration accused Germany, Japan and China of devaluing their currencies to gain a trade advantage. The U.S. currency suffered its worst January in three decades after President Donald Trump complained that every “other country lives on devaluation”. Bargain hunters nudged the dollar up 0.15% in Asian and European trading, reassuring themselves that the Federal Reserve should signal later that it still plans to raise U.S. interest rates a number of times this year

Speaking of, today’s main event – in addition to any off the cuff Trump statements and/or tweets – is the Fed decision, however it should be relatively uneventful as officials aren’t expected to increase rates when the Federal Open Market Committee convenes, but investors will trawl the statement accompanying the decision for any change in forward guidance which earlier indicated there could be three hikes this year. The Fed watchers will also look for clues on how the Fed interprets Trump’s impact on the US economy. The overall tone should still be one that is relatively positive but it’s hard to see much new information that would really shift market expectations. A reminder that Yellen’s Humphrey-Hawkins testimony is only two weeks away so that may end up being the more relevant event for markets.

“The markets are caught in this dilemma about whether to pay more attention to fundamentals or to politics,” said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments Ltd. in Edinburgh. “We’re getting a fairly steady stream of profits exceeding expectations. The dollar is the canary in the coal mine — it’s the asset to watch because it’s so closely correlated to risk-on, risk-off sentiment across all other assets.”

Following a weak two-day close to the month in US markets, an upbeat mood in Europe’s aided by generally strong final Mfg PMI readings as well as strong corporate earnings underpinned a rebound in global stocks, while the dollar stabilized as investors prepare to scour today’s Fed statement for clues on the path of interest rates this year. The mood was also better in Asia this morning, with the Nikkei, Kospi and ASX all higher while in FX the Dollar index has also rebounded.

“European shares are trading higher this morning receiving a boost from firmer markets across Asia, better than expected Apple earnings and Siemens revising upwards its profit forecast,” Markus Huber, a trader at City of London Markets said in a note. “Focus will be on the FOMC meeting with the interest rate decision due out later tonight.”

The positive sentiment was bolstered by positive data out of China which released the latest, January PMI report. All in all the data was relatively stable with the manufacturing reading falling a modest 0.1pts to 51.3 (vs. 51.2 expected) in January, offset by a 0.1pt rise in the non-manufacturing reading to 54.6.

“We believe that the manufacturing sector will continue to underperform the services sector,” analysts at BMI Research, Fitch Group’s research arm, wrote in a note. “Weaker domestic demand and an uncertain external environment due to rising U.S. protectionism will weigh on the former, while services will benefit from continued investment by the government and the private sector.”

“Behind the headline is still an outperformance of large enterprises, suggesting that China’s manufacturing industry continues to consolidate,” said Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Looking ahead, the government will continue to juggle growth and capacity reduction. This headline PMI will still stay above the threshold of 50, but it’s hardly impressive.”

Exports from tech bellwether South Korea also grew at the fastest pace in almost five years, another sign the global economy had been on the mend before all the talk of U.S. protectionism darkened the air.

Over to Europe, where stocks climbed alongside S&P 500 futures rising by 0.3%, offsetting yesterday’s loss, after companies including Apple, Siemens AG and Volvo AB posted results that exceeded expectations, along with optimistic forecasts for the year ahead. After its worst month since March, the greenback edged higher as frets over President Donald Trump’s policies were overshadowed by the Federal Reserve’s first meeting of the year.

The pound rose before a parliamentary vote on formally triggering an exit from the European Union. The U.K. parliament on Wednesday holds its first vote on the Article 50 bill. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney faces a delicate balancing act when policy makers meet to decide interest rates on Thursday.

Looking at markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 1% as of 10:41 a.m. in London, rebounding after a three-day decline. Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark for American equities advanced 1.8 percent in January for a third monthly gain, and is higher by more than 6% since Nov. 8. The FTSE 100 Index gained the most in a month, advancing 0.8%. Oil touched $53 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note added two basis points to 2.47 percent. It fell four basis points on Tuesday. European government bonds extended a decline, with the yield on bunds due in a decade rising three basis points to 0.46 percent. French 10-year yields rose six basis points to 1.09 percent.

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Overnight Bulletin Summary from RanSquawk