In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose to a fresh seven-month high on Thursday, with Hong Kong shares playing catch-up to other markets’ gains as trade resumed after its three-day Lunar New Holiday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.9 percent to 557.65 and was set for its fifth straight day of gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.7 percent in its first day of trade in the Year of the Rabbit, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.25 percent. Trading was thin on Thursday with Australia closed for a holiday and certain parts of Asia, including China, still away for the Lunar New Year.

In Currency Markets the dollar held close to an eight-month low against its peers on Thursday, as a gloomy U.S. corporate earnings season stoked recession fears and as traders stayed on guard ahead of a slew of central bank meetings next week. Sterling was little changed at $1.2400, while the euro fell 0.03 percent to $1.0911, though remained close to its nine-month high of $1.0927 hit on Monday. The Aussie rose 0.2 percent to $0.7117, while the kiwi gained 0.1 percent to $0.6486. The Japanese yen rose 0.2 percent to 129.32 per dollar.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 ended nominally lower on Wednesday as a string of corporate earnings ran the gamut from downbeat to dismal, reviving worries over the economic impact of the U.S. Fed’s restrictive policy. The Dow rose 0.03 percent, to 33,743.84, the S&P 500 lost 0.02 percent, to 4,016.22 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.18 percent, to 11,313.36. General Dynamics Corp beat quarterly expectations, but a weak 2023 forecast helped send the defense contractor’s shares sliding 3.6 percent. IBM advanced after hours in the wake of posting its highest annual revenue growth in a decade.

In Commodities Markets oil prices settled largely unchanged on Wednesday after government data showed a smaller-than-anticipated build in U.S. crude inventories, countering weak economic data from Tuesday. Brent crude futures settled at $86.12 a barrel, down a cent, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $80.15 a barrel, up by 2 cents. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,940.49 per ounce. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.6 percent to $23.81 per ounce, platinum fell 1.5 percent to $1,041.63 while palladium was down 2.7 percent to $1,696.50.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday as lacklustre results from U.S. software giant Microsoft fanned fears about the outlook for the tech sector, while investors remained concerned that central banks were not yet close to pausing their interest rate hikes. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell for a second day, closing down 0.3 percent but off a near two-week low hit earlier in the session. Energy and industrial firms were also big drags on the STOXX 600, falling 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields inched down on Wednesday, reflecting concerns about an economic slowdown ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting meeting next week. Benchmark 10-year government bond yields declined marginally, about one basis point, to 3.458 percent on Wednesday, and two-year note yields – slid to 4.137 percent. The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday auctioned $43 billion in five-year notes at a high-yield of 3.530 percent, 2.6 basis points below the expected rate at the bid deadline, a sign of hefty investor demand for the paper.