In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.3 percent lower, with major bourses and most business sectors in the red. Telecoms had fell by almost 2 percent at the end of trade. Altice and Telecom Italia dragged the sector lower on news of ratings downgrades. Both stocks declined during the afternoon to close approximately 3.5 percent down. Basic resources also performed poorly, with shares finishing the day off by 1.2 percent. Glencore shares falling, closing 4.4 percent lower, although they had been negative by almost 7 percent earlier in the afternoon as the mining firm may face investigation by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office over its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In Currency Markets the US dollar rose to a five-month high against a basket of major currencies on Friday, helped by weakness in the euro as investors fretted about political uncertainty in Italy. The dollar index has gained for five straight sessions and is on track for a 1.3 percent weekly gain. It has risen 5 percent since mid-February, with investors betting U.S. interest rates will need to rise further to curb inflation. The euro on Friday was headed for its fifth successive weekly decline versus the dollar, its first such fall since 2015. In mid-morning trading, the euro fell to a five-month low of $1.1753. On Friday, the dollar set a fresh four-month high against the yen and was up 0.1 percent for the day.

In Commodities Markets brent oil prices were little changed on Friday but were on track for a sixth straight week of gains, boosted by strong demand, looming U.S. sanctions on Iran and plummeting Venezuelan production. Brent crude futures for July delivery fell 6 cents to $79.24 a barrel, a 0.1 percent loss. The benchmark on Thursday broke through $80 for the first time since November 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June delivery fell 19 cents to $71.30 a barrel, a 0.3 percent loss. The contract was still set for its third straight week of gains. British bank Barclays said it expected average prices of $70 per barrel for Brent this year and $65 a barrel for 2019, up from estimates of $63 and $60 previously.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 index fell on Friday, weighed down by losses in shares of Alphabet and Applied Materials, although industrial stocks helped limit losses on signs of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks. Applied Materials fell 9.9 percent after the chip gear maker’s disappointing forecast renewed concerns over slowing smartphone demand. The S&P 500 was down 0.24 percent, at 2,713.60 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.37 percent, at 7,355.06. Campbell Soup fell 11.5 percent after its chief executive officer decided to step down and a cut in full-year profit forecast. Deere jumped 4.2 percent after the company raised its full-year earnings estimate.

In Bond Markets Italy’s long-term borrowing costs jumped to more than seven-month highs on Friday after two anti-establishment parties pledged to increase spending in a deal to form a new coalition government. Spreads between Italian and German 10-year debt widened to its highest since Jan. 3 at 162 basis points. On a weekly basis, spreads were wider by 30 basis points, its biggest weekly move since April 2015. Italy’s 10-year government bond yield climbed 10 basis points (bps) to 2.22 percent, its highest level since last October. It is up more than 30 bps this week, set for its biggest weekly jump since June 2015.