In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed on Monday as trade tensions between the U.S. and China remain in focus. Both the Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi extended their earlier gains. The Nikkei 225 traded up by 0.16 percent in the afternoon while the Kospi saw gains of 0.27 percent with industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics rising 1.34 percent. Down Under, the ASX 200 recovered from its earlier losses to trade up by 0.14 percent, even though the heavily weighted financials sector remained slightly down.

In Currency Markets the US dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies on Monday thanks to strong U.S. August jobs data and amid fears of a potentially major escalation in the China-U.S. trade conflict. The dollar index traded about 0.1 percent higher at 95.425. The index advanced more than 0.3 percent on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth picked up in August and wages recorded their largest annual gain in more than nine years. The strong data further supported the prospect of faster rate rises by the Federal Reserve, boosting demand for the dollar.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Monday as U.S. drilling for new production stalled and as the market eyed tighter conditions once Washington’s sanctions against Iran’s crude exports kick in from November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $68.19 per barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.65 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures climbed 50 cents, or 0.65 percent, to $77.33 a barrel. U.S. energy companies cut two oil rigs last week, bringing the total count to 860, energy services firm Baker Hughes said on Friday.

In US Equity Markets major indexes fell on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump raised the possibility of additional tariffs on Chinese imports and Apple Inc indicated that some of its products could be subjected to such levies. The S&P 500 lost 0.22 percent, to 2,871.68 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.25 percent, to 7,902.54. Shares of chipmaker Broadcom Inc rose 7.7 percent after a strong current-quarter revenue forecast. For the week the S&P fell 1.03 percent, and the Nasdaq shed 2.55 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. benchmark Treasury yields rose on Friday to their highest levels in almost a month after the largest annual increase in wages since 2009 raised expectations of higher inflation. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4 percent, or 10 cents in August. That raised the annual increase in wages to 2.9 percent in August, the largest gain since June 2009. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.941 percent, up from 2.877 percent on Thursday.