In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed just below the flatline, with sectors and major bourses pointing in different directions. London’s FTSE 100 was the standout gainer by the close, rising about 0.9 percent amid a slide in the British pound. Europe’s banking index fell nearly 1.4 percent. Britain’s Merlin Entertainments fell close to the bottom of the index. Shares of the company fell roughly 5.5 percent after Berenberg cut its stock recommendation to “sell” from “hold.”

In Currency Markets the pound fell on Thursday and was heading for its biggest one-day fall this year on growing fears of a “no-deal” Brexit should British lawmakers hold firm in their rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal. While a broad-based rally in the dollar also weighed on the pound, traders said the risks of a no-deal Brexit have grown in the last 48 hours, sending the British currency falling across the board and kicking bond yields lower. Sterling fell 1.3 percent to $1.3004, its biggest daily drop since December 2018.

In Commodities Markets oil edged lower on Thursday but held near 2019 highs, supported by a tightening of global stocks, OPEC production cuts and U.S. sanctions on key producers Iran and Venezuela. Brent crude futures were down 24 cents at $68.26 a barrel, having hit their highest since Nov. 13 at $68.69 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $60.01 per barrel, down 13 cents. WTI reached its highest since Nov. 12 earlier in the day, at $60.33.

In US Equity Markets technology shares pushed Wall Street’s main indexes higher on Thursday, offseting losses in U.S. lenders after the Federal Reserve decided not to raise interest rates this year. The banking index fell 1.65 percent. The S&P 500 was up 0.47 percent, at 2,837.49 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.71 percent, at 7,783.99. Biogen Inc fell 29 percent and was the biggest drag on the S&P and Nasdaq, after the drugmaker and its partner, Eisai Co Ltd, said they would discontinue two studies testing an Alzheimer’s drug.

In Bond Markets Germany’s 10-year bond yield hurtled towards zero percent on Thursday, dropping to its lowest since late 2016, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve abandoned its projections for any rate rises this year given signs of an economic slowdown. Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond yield fell to a two-year low of just 0.034 percent, on track for its biggest one day fall since March 7 when the ECB surprised markets with its own more dovish stance. Across the euro zone, long-dated bond yields fell as much as six basis points on the day .