In Asian Equity Markets stocks held on to recent gains in morning trading on Thursday, despite hawkish remarks from a senior official at the U.S. Federal Reserve, that boosted the dollar while weighing on risk appetite, and uncertainty about Chinese policy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.32 percent. Australia gained 0.18 percent, Chinese blue chips fell 0.28 percent and Hong Kong advanced 0.45 percent. Chinese equities have been calmer this week, barring sharp swings in tech giant Tencent after state media criticised the gaming industry.

In Currency Markets the dollar was poised to push higher on Thursday as hawkish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve led markets to bring forward the likely timing of a policy tightening there, while action in Europe and Japan remain distant prospects. The euro was flat at $1.1835, having recoiled from a top of $1.1899 overnight after failing to crack resistance around $1.1910. The dollar also reached 109.67 yen, from a trough of 108.71 on Wednesday, negating what had been a bearish break to the downside.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling from a record high after data signaled a slowdown in jobs growth in July, and General Motors tracked its worst day since early March. The Dow fell 0.92 percent, to 34,792.67, the S&P 500 lost 0.46 percent, to 4,402.66 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.13 percent, to 14,780.53. GM’s shares lost 8.9 percent, underscoring the uncertainty facing global automakers at a time of technological and economic disruption. Shares of rival Ford Motor Co fell 5.0 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell for a third day in a row to a two-week low on Wednesday on a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles, the negative U.S. economic report and worries that the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant will weigh on global energy demand. U.S. crude recently fell 3.73 percent to $67.93 per barrel and Brent was at $70.16, down 3.11 percent on the day. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,811.38 per ounce, while silver fell 0.5 percent to $25.42 per ounce. Platinum eased 2.2 percent to $1,026.23 per ounce, while palladium gained 0.2 percent to $2,653.65.

In European Equity Markets stocks ended at fresh highs on Wednesday with technology stocks hitting a 20-year peak, while optimism over the second-quarter earnings season continued to feed into positive sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6 percent to a record high of 468.22 points. Technology stocks were the best performers for the day, rising 1.9 percent to levels last seen during the dot-com bubble. Germany’s Commerzbank fell 5.8 percent after it swung to a second-quarter loss following a write-off to end an outsourcing project and as the lender undergoes a major restructuring.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields settled mostly higher on Wednesday after a top Federal Reserve official’s comments on interest rates shifted traders’ focus away from disappointing payroll data. The benchmark 10-year yield was up 1.1 basis points at 1.1854 percent in afternoon trading. It reached a high of 1.215 percent in the late morning after falling to 1.127 percent early in the session, its lowest level since February. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up almost a basis point at 0.1822 percent.