In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed in Thursday morning trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.4%, as shares of Chinese tech juggernaut Tencent dropped around 2% after the heavyweight announced on Wednesday a 13% year-on-year decline in profit. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.17% as shares of Familymart fell more than 2%. Shares of Z Holdings, previously named Yahoo Japan, jumped more than 16% after the firm said Thursday it was in discussions to merge with Line. Shareholder Softbank Group also saw its stock gain about 1%. Shares in Australia edged higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 up about 0.6%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, traditional safe-haven investments, after media reports that trade talks between the U.S. and China had “hit a snag” over farm purchases. The negotiations stalled as China expressed it did not want a deal that looked one-sided in the favor of the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Against the euro, the franc rallied to a one-month high as risk appetite decreased and as hedge funds unwound some of their bets against the currency.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday after industry data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude inventories while comments from an OPEC official about lower-than-expected U.S. shale production growth in 2020 also provided some support for oil. However, prices were capped by mixed signs for oil demand in China, the world’s biggest crude importer, as industrial output increased in October at a less-than-expected rate but oil refinery throughput last month rose 9.2% from a year earlier to the second-highest ever. Brent futures rose 16 cents, or 0.3%, to $62.53 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 22 cents, or 0.4%, to reach $57.34.

In US Equity Markets main indexes rose on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the domestic economy was in good shape and the central bank saw a “sustained expansion” ahead. The S&P 500 was up 0.16%, at 3,096.85. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11%, at 8,495.83. A 4.4% jump in shares of Walt Disney Co boosted the blue-chip Dow Jones index as the entertainment company said its newly launched streaming service Disney+ reached 10 million sign-ups in a day. SmileDirectClub Inc fell 18.3% as the teeth alignment company posted a bigger quarterly loss and pointed towards more losses for the year.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as optimism that the United States and China will reach a deal to remove tariffs faded, and as the recent rise in yields was seen as overdone. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the two countries are close to a deal that would end the trade war but added that if a deal is not made the United States will raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Benchmark 10-year note yields rose to 1.97% on Thursday, which was the highest since August 1, and have climbed from 1.67% on November 1. On Wednesday, the yields fell to 1.87%, from 1.91% late Tuesday.