In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday and European stocks were poised for a lower open after Federal Reserve meeting minutes pointed to a faster-than-expected rise in U.S. interest rates due to concerns about persistent inflation. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell nearly 1.5 percent. Australian shares slid 2.74 percent and Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell 2.88 percent. Chinese blue-chips fell 1 percent as continuing COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on the outlook despite a private sector survey showing China’s service sector activity expanded more quickly in December.

In Currency Markets the dollar was up on Thursday morning in Asia, remaining near a five-year high to the yen as investors digested the hawkish tone in the minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched up 0.01 percent to 96.188. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar edged down 0.20 percent to 115.87. Sterling edged down 0.14 percent to 1.3535. The euro traded at $1.1310. Australian dollar was down 0.45 percent to $0.7187 and the kiwi was down 0.38 percent to $0.6766.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq falling more than 3 percent in its biggest one-day percentage decrease since February, after U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes signaled the central bank may raise interest rates sooner than expected. The Dow fell 1.07 percent, to 36,407.11, the S&P 500 lost 1.94 percent, to 4,700.58 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.34 percent, to 15,100.17. The Russell 2000 index also suffered its biggest one-day decrease since Nov. 26, while the S&P 500 financials index fell 1.3 percent, a day after it registered an all-time closing high.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains even after OPEC+ producers stuck to an agreed output target rise for February and U.S. fuel inventories surged due to sliding demand as COVID-19 cases spiked. Brent crude futures ended up 1 percent, to $80.80 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures closed up 1.1 percent, to $77.85. Spot gold was last down 0.2 percent at $1,810.56 per ounce. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 1.1 percent to $22.78 an ounce, platinum was up 0.9 percent at $980.53, and palladium fell 0.6 percent to $1,859.30.

In European Equity Markets automobile stocks helped drive European shares to new highs on Wednesday, even as a new year rally appeared to be running out of gas due to concerns over COVID-19 and slowing growth. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.1 percent to 494.35 points, its third consecutive record closing high. The European automobile subindex was the best performer, jumping 2.7 percent to a record high as investors expected production to roar back from a semiconductor shortage, with car sales also likely to improve. Germany’s BMW added 2.2 percent after it achieved record sales from its BMW brand in 2021.

In Bond Markets after moving modestly higher early in the session, treasuries showed another notable move to the downside over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. Bond prices pulled back well off their early highs and firmly into negative territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose by 3.7 basis points to 1.705 percent. The ten-year yield extended the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions, reaching its highest closing level in nine months.