Global markets are sliding after reports of fired FBI director's Trump memos

Financial markets are under pressure on Wednesday following a report that President Donald Trump asked former FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into former US national security adviser Michael Flynn in February.

US stock futures are indicating a lower open for trading. S&P 500 futures are down by 9 points, or 0.39%, at 7:32 a.m. ET. Dow futures are down 76 points (-0.37%.)

The US dollar's losses are deepening, and the currency's index is at its lowest level since late October, prior to the US election that spurred its rally to a 14-year high.

Major stock indexes in Asia and Europe are also trading lower. The TOPIX in Tokyo is down 0.5%, pressured by the stronger yen. Australia's ASX 200 is also down by around 1.1%, a stark turnaround in fortunes given SPI futures were indicating a flat start to trade.

The latest news "merely add fuel to the existing fires of political uncertainty," with "apparent White House incoherence slowly sapping faith in stimulus policies getting even partisan approval," said Mike van Dulken, the head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note.

Safe-haven assets are the exception to market weakness.

The Japanese yen is up by 0.6%, trading at 112.42 against the US dollar, while gold is up by 0.8%, currently sitting at $1,246.52 an ounce.

According to The New York Times, Comey reportedly created records of interactions he had with Trump which he deemed "improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation".

During the meeting, the president asked him to drop the FBI investigation, Comey's memo as reported by the Times said.

"He is a good guy," Trump told Comey, according to the memo. "I hope you can let this go."

In the absence of any major economic data, this could be the story that dominates markets on Wednesday.