In Asian Equity Markets indices declined in Thursday morning trade as the death toll rises in China due to a pneumonia-causing virus outbreak. Mainland Chinese stocks fell in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down about 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 1.17%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.65% in morning trade while the Topix index also shed 0.5%. South Korea’s Kospi also saw losses as it declined 0.48%. Meanwhile, shares in Australia declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.6%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar was unchanged against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as safe-haven demand ebbed along with worries about whether the spread of a flu-like coronavirus would hurt the global economy. The Canadian dollar was down about 0.5% against the greenback after the Bank of Canada maintained its key overnight interest rate at 1.75% as expected, but opened the door to a possible cut should slow growth continue.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell to their lowest in seven weeks on Thursday on concerns that the spread of a newly identified respiratory virus from China may lower fuel demand at the same time a report showed oil inventories in the United States rose last week. Brent crude futures were down 1.7%, to $62.16 a barrel, and earlier dropped to the lowest since Dec. 4, after falling 2.1% the previous session. U.S. WTI futures fell 1.7%, to $55.78 a barrel after earlier falling to the lowest since Dec. 3. The contract declined 2.7% on Wednesday.

In US Equity Markets technology shares led the S&P 500 marginally higher on Wednesday, as a healthy forecast from IBM helped mitigate worries over the developing coronavirus outbreak. The S&P 500 gained 0.03%, to 3,321.81 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.14%, to 9,383.77. Chipmakers rose following a strong forecast from Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index was up 1.0%.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were narrowly mixed on Wednesday, with market participants cautious overall, as bond investors digested the economic implications of a fatal new coronavirus from China. U.S. 10-year yields were little changed at 1.770%, from 1.769% late on Tuesday. Earlier in the session, 10-year yields fell to two-week lows of 1.759%. Yields on U.S. 30-year bonds were at 2.218%, down from 2.231% on Tuesday. Thirty-year yields also fell to two-week troughs of 2.207%.