In Asian Equity Markets inflation fears pressured stocks and buoyed the dollar at an almost 16-month high on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices surged at the fastest pace since 1990, boosting the case for faster Federal Reserve policy tightening. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 0.57 percent. But Chinese blue chips rallied 1.28 percent, led by real estate stocks. Japan’s Nikkei was another outlier, climbing 0.6 percent as the yen weakened as far as 114.15 per dollar on Thursday, from as strong as 112.73 earlier in the week, a near one-month high.

In Currency Markets the dollar hit 2021 highs against sterling and the euro on Thursday, while the yen was smarting from its sharpest drubbing in a month, after the hottest U.S. inflation reading in a generation fanned bets on rate hikes. The euro was pummelled, as the European Central Bank is seen lagging on policy tightening, and it fell further to $1.1465. The yen extended a sharp reversal of recent gains to 114.15 per dollar. The Australian and New Zealand dollars nevertheless fell, with the Aussie down 0.4 percent at a one-month low of $0.7298 and the kiwi down 0.3 percent at $0.7038.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday as surging consumer prices curbed investor risk appetite, and stoked worries of a protracted wave of red hot inflation. The Dow fell 0.66 percent, to 36,079.94, the S&P 500 lost 0.82 percent, to 4,646.71 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.66 percent, to 15,622.71. Tech weighed heaviest on the S&P 500, with megacaps Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp among the biggest drags. Walt Disney Co shares fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading after the media company reported disappointing streaming subscriber numbers.

In Commodities Markets gold touched a five-month high on Wednesday, leading a rally in precious metals, as data showed U.S. consumer prices surged last month, burnishing bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge. Spot gold was up 0.7 percent at $1,843.31 per ounce. Latching onto gold’s coattails, spot silver rose 1.3 percent to $24.59, platinum added 0.7 percent to $1,066.05 and palladium gained 0.4 percent at $2,028.44. Brent crude fell $2.14 to settle at $84.64 a barrel. U.S. crude lost $2.81 to settle at $81.34 a barrel.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Wednesday following strong earnings from the media and energy sectors, while technology stocks fell as fears of increased competition weighed on popular online food delivery companies. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 percent at 483.76 points, with media and energy stocks among the top gainers. Luxury stocks, including Kering, Hermes, Moncler, LVMH, and Burberry fell between 1 percent and 2.5 percent after data showing a rise in Chinese factory inflation fuelled concerns over stagflation in the country, which is a top buyer of luxury goods.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury debt yields shot higher on Wednesday as the market was battered by the biggest annual gain in U.S. consumer prices in 31 years and a weak 30-year bond auction. The benchmark 10-year yield had its biggest session climb since Feb. 25, jumping as high as 1.592 percent. It was last up 12.4 basis points at 1.5733 percent. The 30-year yield, which hit 1.988 percent following the auction, was last 10.6 basis points higher at 1.9266 percent. The inversion on the longest end of the curve that began late last month continued with the 20-year yield at 1.9724 percent.