LONDON - Global shares were steady while the dollar held gains on promising signs on United States trade talks, while attention was turning to earnings from Nvidia later in the day.

Markets remained optimistic over what appeared to be easing trade frictions between the US and Europe, but long-term yields rose again as a lackluster auction of Japan's longest-dated bonds underscored lingering fiscal deficit concerns.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the European Union's move to set up talks was positive, after walking back plans over the weekend to impose 50 percent tariffs on goods from the bloc.

"They are major trading partners so I'm optimistic there will be some sort of agreement in the end," said George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars.

Europe's STOXX 600 inched up 0.1 percent, adding to gains over the last two days. Britain's FTSE and France's CAC 40 both added 0.2 percent, while Germany's DAX rose 0.3 percent to another new record, supported again by rising defence stocks.

In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed. Japan's Nikkei ended flat, after advancing for the previous three sessions.

In the US, attention was on Nvidia, the last of the "Magnificent 7" tech giants to report earnings this season.

"There is renewed confidence that Nvidia can beat the consensus estimates," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone.

If Nvidia comes through with better-than-expected sales and profit margins "the rally is on", he added.

The chipmaker is expected to report that first-quarter revenue surged 66.2 percent to $43.28 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Ahead of the results, Nasdaq futures dipped 0.1 percent, while S&P 500 futures eased by a similar amount.

Eyes on bond yields

A rise in longer-dated bond yields resumed on Wednesday, with concerns mounting about fiscal sustainability in many major markets, including the US, Japan and Britain.

Those concerns escalated in recent weeks after the US sovereign rating was downgraded by Moody's and as Trump's bill for large-scale tax cuts passed in the House, before moving to the Senate.

"It all starts with the US fiscal incontinence and an apparent repudiation of fiscal discipline," Forvis Mazars's Lagarias said.

"Because they have the global reserve currency, they are testing their ability to borrow as much as they can, but ultimately there is only so much the markets can handle."

Japanese bond yields rose overnight following tepid demand for an auction of 40-year notes, with the 40-year JGB yield rising 9 basis points to 3.375 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

That lifted long-end yields across the globe, with the US 30-year yield up 4 bps to 4.9769 percent and the 10-year yield up 3.5 bps to 4.4694 percent.

In currency markets, the dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six peers, was steady after a 0.6 percent rally the day before. The euro was flat at $1.1329.

The kiwi dollar rose 0.3 percent to $0.5969 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 25 basis points as expected.

Oil prices ticked up as the US barred Chevron from exporting crude from Venezuela under a new authorization on its assets there, raising the prospect of tighter supply.

Brent crude futures rose 0.5 percent to $64.41 a barrel, while US crude advanced 0.6 percent to $61.27 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.7 percent after dropping more than 1 percent on Tuesday.