In Asian Equity Markets stocks advanced on Friday, warmed by the embers of a strong day on Wall Street which also supported risk-friendly currencies and hurt the safe-haven yen, though worries about the Chinese economy capped gains. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.6 percent, and Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.08 percent. The broader Topix gained 1.17 percent at 2,010.22. Chinese blue chips fell soon after the bell, but were last flat, while Hong Kong shares returned from a one-day break to open higher before retreating also to be flat.

In Currency Markets the dollar headed for its first weekly decline versus major peers since the start of last month, falling back from a one-year high as traders turned their attention to when the U.S. Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates. The dollar index was little changed at 94.034 on Friday. The euro fell 0.09 percent to $1.1588, while sterling was little changed at $1.36705. The risk-sensitive Aussie dollar edged down 0.07 percent to $0.74105 and New Zealand’s kiwi dollar lost 0.06 percent to $0.7033. Against the yen, the dollar rose 0.16 percent on Friday and touched 113.885 yen.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Thursday, as companies including Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth climbed following strong results, while data on the labor market and inflation soothed fears over the outlook for higher rates. The Dow rose 1.56 percent, to 34,912.56, the S&P 500 gained 1.71 percent, to 4,438.26 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.73 percent, to 14,823.43. UnitedHealth Group Inc climbed 4.2 percent after the health insurer reported results and raised its full year adjusted profit forecast on strength from its Optum unit that manages drug benefits.

In Commodities Markets gold rose on Thursday, as a decline in the dollar and U.S. bond yields allowed investors to turn to bullion as an inflation hedge. Spot gold gained 0.2 percent at $1,796.59 per ounce. Silver rose 1.7 percent to $23.45 per ounce and palladium climbed 1.4 percent to $2,136.18. Platinum rose 3.1 percent to $1,051.78. Oil bulls pushed Brent crude back towards $85 a barrel. Brent climbed 0.57 percent to $83.65, and U.S. crude rose 0.62 percent to $80.96 per barrel. Natural gas climbed 2 percent, having already soared more than 150 percent this year, driving the spike in global energy prices.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Thursday, hitting the highest in more than two weeks as investors bet a steady economic recovery from the pandemic-induced slump will support corporate earnings despite signs of elevated inflation. Mining shares jumped 3.3 percent, their biggest daily gain in three months, technology stocks rallied again, and the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 1.2 percent. SAP gained 2.9 percent, the biggest boost to the tech sector, after the German software firm’s shares jumped nearly 4 percent in the previous session following a strong quarterly report.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday after data on the labor market and inflation eased worries the Federal Reserve may need to take action earlier than expected to combat rising prices, with shorter-dated notes poised to snap an extended run higher. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 3 basis points to 1.519 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down 1.7 basis points to 2.024 percent. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield was down 1.4 basis points at 0.354 percent and poised for its first decline after seven straight days of gains, its longest streak since June.