That progress was tempered by fresh security concerns, however, after reports emerged Wednesday evening that Houthi forces had targeted another Saudi oil vessel in the Gulf of Aden. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said the master of a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz reported hearing two explosions during its passage. On the policy front, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook struck a notably hawkish note in remarks after the US regular session close. FX markets were broadly quiet through the session, but equities told a different story. Japan's Nikkei fell, dragged lower by heavyweight technology names tracking overnight weakness in US listed chip and AI adjacent stocks.