In Asian Equity Markets stocks tracked a global equities sell-off on Friday as rate hike guidance from the European Central Bank and jitters over upcoming U.S. inflation data stoked concerns about global growth, while stocks in China rose on hopes of policy loosening. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.9 percent, weighed down by a 1.2 percent decrease in resources-heavy Australia and a 1.5 percent retreat in South Korea. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.4 percent. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.41 percent, while Hong Kong shares trimmed earlier losses to be off 0.2 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar edged off a two-week high on the euro on Friday, ahead of inflation data that should guide the Fed’s policy tightening path, and after the ECB said it would start its rate-hike campaign next month. The euro edged up 0.23 percent in Asia trade having touched $1.0611 early in the session, its lowest since May 23. It lost 0.92 percent on the dollar overnight after a volatile ECB-driven session. The dollar index was 0.27 percent lower at 103.1 but still up 0.94 percent this week. The dollar gave back a fraction of its recent gains against the Japanese yen, falling 0.35 percent to 133.85 yen.

In US Equity Markets stocks sold off sharply Thursday as investor anxiety heightened ahead of data on Friday that is expected to show consumer prices remained elevated in May. The Dow fell 1.94 percent, to 32,272.79; the S&P 500 lost 2.38 percent, to 4,017.82; and the Nasdaq Composite 2.75 percent, to 11,754.23. Mega-cap growth stocks led the decline, with Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc falling 3.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. Communication services and technology had the biggest declines among sectors, although all 11 S&P 500 sectors ended lower on the day.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Thursday but still hovered near three-month highs after parts of Shanghai imposed new COVID-19 lockdown measures, as strong gains in refined products contributed to an ongoing bullish backdrop for crude oil. Brent crude futures for August settled down 51 cents at $123.07 a barrel, a 0.4 percent decline, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July lost 0.5 percent, to $121.51 a barrel. Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,847.59 per ounce. Spot silver 0.5 percent to $21.92 per ounce, while platinum shed 2.1 percent, to $984.71. Palladium fell 0.8 percent to $1,927.59.

In European Equity Markets stocks hit two-week lows on Thursday after the European Central Bank signalled a higher interest rate hike in September as it raised its inflation forecast and cut economic growth expectations for the year. read more The STOXX euro zone stocks index lost 1.6 percent. All major bourses in Europe fell 1 percent or more, with Italy’s MIB down 1.9 percent. Losses in Europe were largely broad-based. The region’s banks, which would be the primary beneficiary of higher interest rates, also fell 1.2 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) signaled a series of upcoming interest rate hikes and before highly anticipated U.S. inflation data due on Friday. Two-year yields, which are highly sensitive to interest rate moves, got as high as 2.842 percent and benchmark 10-year note yields reached 3.073 percent, both the highest since May 11. The yield curve between two-year and 10-year yields flattened to 22 basis points, the smallest yield gap since May 25.