In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed on Friday morning after China’s GDP growth for the third quarter of 2018 came in below expectations. After falling in the morning, China markets bounced back to recover after the GDP data was released. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai composite advanced by 0.47 percent and the Shenzhen composite saw gains of around 0.56 percent. Over in Japan, both the Nikkei 225 and Topix declined by around 1.1 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi traded lower by 0.2 percent.

In Currency Markets the euro hovered near a one-week low against the dollar on Friday as the European Commission’s criticism of Italy’s populist budget sparked fresh concerns about political tensions in the common currency zone. The British pound hit a fresh 11-day low on Friday, but rebounded slightly to quote at $1.3020 versus the dollar. British Prime Minister Theresa May, on Thursday said that the European Union’s proposal on the Irish border was unacceptable. The Japanese yen weakened slightly versus the dollar on Friday, to trade at 112.31.

In Commodities Markets oil prices nudged higher on Friday but were set for a second weekly drop amid higher U.S. crude inventories, an ongoing Sino-U.S. trade war and concerns over the death of a prominent Saudi journalist. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $68.92 a barrel. Front-month London Brent crude for December delivery was up 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $79.63 a barrel. For the week, U.S. crude was down 3.5 percent, while Brent was 1.1 percent lower, putting both on track for a second consecutive weekly decline.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell more than 1 percent on Thursday. Textron shares fell 11.3 percent and United Rentals shares sank 15.0 percent, while Sealed Air Corp shares slid 8.3 percent after the packaging company cut its full-year profit outlook due to higher raw material and freight costs. The S&P 500 lost 1.4 percent, to 2,768.78 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1 percent, to 7,485.14. Among the S&P’s major sectors, only utilities and real estate, considered defensive, avoided losses. S&P 500 technology and consumer discretionary stocks fell more than 2 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields slipped on Thursday as safe-haven demand fueled by more losses on Wall Street mitigated selling tied to worries about further interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve.The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 3.173 percent, 0.6 basis point lower than late Wednesday. It reached a one-week peak of 3.179 percent earlier Thursday, which was below a 7-1/2 year peak of 3.261 percent reached last week.  The 30-year yield was the exception among maturities. It was 3.357 percent, up about 1 basis from late Wednesday.