In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday on widespread investor concern over high inflation and the threat of recession, while oil prices fell following a report of reassurances from Saudi Arabia over production. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1.4 percent in afternoon trade. China’s blue-chip index fell 0.1 percent, Australian shares lost 1 percent, and Seoul’s KOSPI slid 1.1 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei lost 0.25 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar hit a three-week high against the yen in early trade on Thursday and held its gains against other majors, supported by this week’s advances in U.S. Treasury yields, which hit two-week peaks overnight. The dollar rose as far as 130.23 yen, its highest since May 11, extending Wednesday’s 1.1 percent gain and heading back towards its 20-year peak of 131.34 hit in May. The euro was at $1.0653, having fallen 0.81 percent to a 10-day low overnight, and sterling was at $1.247 after losing 0.96 percent on Wednesday. This left the dollar index on the front foot at 102.53.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Wednesday as investors bet that the latest economic data would do nothing to push the Federal Reserve off track from its aggressive interest rate hiking cycle aimed at taming run-away inflation. The Dow fell 0.54 percent, to 32,813.23, the S&P 500 lost 0.75 percent, to 4,101.23 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.72 percent, to 11,994.46. Late in the session, Meta Platforms fell after Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a Facebook post that she would leave the company after 14 years. It closed down 2.6 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Wednesday after European Union leaders agreed to a phased ban on Russian oil and as China ended its COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai, which could bolster demand in an already tight market. Brent crude settled at $116.29 a barrel, a gain of 0.6 percent, while U.S. WTI crude gained 0.5 percent, to $115.26. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent to $1,830.66 per ounce, after hitting its lowest since May 19 at $1,827.80. Spot silver rose 0.2 percent to $21.58 per ounce. Both platinum and palladium were up 1.1 percent at $975.53 and $2,021.23 per ounce, respectively.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday as weak German retail sales and slowing factory activity in the euro zone fanned worries about economic growth amid record high inflation. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1.0 percent, after gaining as much as 0.4 percent earlier in the day. On the STOXX 600, declines were led by travel stocks and real estate. Regional bourses also fell – the commodity heavy FTSE 100 lost 1.0 percent while Germany’s DAX eased 0.3 percent. German retail sales fell a more-than-expected 5.4 percent in April, data showed.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose to two-week highs on Wednesday in choppy trading, as concerns about recession hitting the world’s largest economy have eased amid a solid round of economic data, even as the Federal Reserve remained on track to undertake aggressive tightening this year. Benchmark U.S. 10-year yields hit two-week highs of 2.951 percent, and were last up 9.5 basis points at 2.9387 percent. U.S. two-year yields, which tend to be sensitive to the Fed’s rate hike outlook, also climbed to a two-week peak of 2.674 percent and were last up 12.6 bps at 2.6659 percent.