In European Equity Markets indexes closed lower on Thursday, as investors digested the latest comments from the European Central Bank, after it left interest rates unchanged. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.55 percent lower, while major sectors and bourses were mostly lower. Nordea fell 4 percent after the group said that it was negatively impacted by a “very low activity level on capital markets” at the end of last year, adding that they weren’t content with the profit development during 2017-end. U.K. lender Close Brothers Group issued a trading update, stating that performance was decent since the start of the financial year, with all three divisions beating expectations. Shares rose 8 percent. Daily Mail & General Trust also rose more than 6 percent after confirming its outlook, adding that it remained in line with market expectations.

In Currency Markets the euro jumped to a fresh three-year high on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said economic data pointed to “solid and broad” growth with inflation likely to rise in the medium term from subdued levels. The euro jumped about 1 percent to $1.2536, its highest since mid-December 2014. It was last up 0.79 percent at $1.2504. Draghi warned that the advance in the euro was a source of uncertainty and said the ECB might have to review strategy if U.S. comments on the benefits of a weak dollar lead to a change in monetary conditions. The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.71 percent at 88.575, after dropping as low as 88.438, its lowest since December 2014.

In Commodities Markets oil hit $71 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since 2014, supported by OPEC-led supply curbs, a record-breaking run of declines in U.S. crude inventories and a weaker U.S. dollar. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia began to curb supplies in January 2017. An involuntary drop in Venezuela’s output in recent months has deepened the impact of the curbs. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, hit $71.28 a barrel – the highest since early December 2014. Brent eased to $70.95, still up 42 cents. U.S. crude climbed to $66.66, also the highest since early December 2014, before dipping to $66.20, up 59 cents. A falling dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for other currency holders and tends to support oil prices.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 was little changed on Thursday as early gains spurred by solid earnings reports and a decline in the dollar evaporated and Caterpillar shares turned negative. Biogen Inc gained 0.66 percent after the drug-maker reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates on higher sales of recently-launched drug Spinraza. Ford Motor Co shares fell 3.36 percent after the automaker posted a lower-than-expected quarterly net profit. The company’s bottom line was hurt by rising commodity costs and unfavorable currency exchange rates, and it expected more pain to come from higher raw material prices in 2018. After the close of trading on Thursday, results are expected from Intel Corp  and Starbucks Corp.

In Bond Markets German government bond yields rose to their highest levels in over half a year as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said euro zone inflation should rise in the medium term. The yield on 10-year German government bonds, the benchmark for the bloc, hit a 6-month high at 0.56 percent, unwinding earlier falls. German 2-year bond yields rose to their highest in over six months at minus 0.56 percent, up 3 basis points on the day. Southern European bond yields also unwound earlier falls and all traded higher on the day, alongside other euro zone bond markets. U.S. Treasury debt yields for most maturities rose from earlier lows on Thursday in line with gains in those of euro zone bonds. U.S. 10-year note yields were up 2 bps at 2.66 percent, after earlier falls, up from Wednesday’s 2.64 percent.