In Asian Equity Markets stocks were up on Friday morning as investors evaluated the economic outlook and interest rates hike expectations. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.83 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped 2.20 percent. In Australia, the ASX 200 rose 0.44 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.33 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.69 percent while the Shenzhen Component was up 0.97 percent. The broader Topix rose 0.35 percent to 1,858.16 — on track for a 1.23 percent weekly gain.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell against its major peers on Friday, on course for its first weekly decline this month as investors assess the path for Federal Reserve policy and whether aggressive rate hikes would trigger a recession. The dollar index edged down 0.07 percent to 104.33. Against the yen, which is extremely sensitive to changes in U.S. yields, the dollar eased 0.1 percent to 134.795. The euro ticked up 0.11 percent to $1.0533, but after tumbling 0.44 percent overnight after weaker-than-expected German and French PMI figures. Sterling rebounded 0.16 percent to $1.2281.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Thursday, fueled by strong performance from defensive and tech shares that outweighed declines for economically sensitive groups as worries persisted about a potential recession. The Dow rose 0.64 percent, to 30,677.36, the S&P 500 gained 0.95 percent, to 3,795.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.62 percent, to 11,232.19. The energy sector lost 3.8 percent. Declines in Exxon Mobil and Chevron were the biggest individual drags on the S&P 500, with Exxon falling 3 percent and Chevron falling 3.7 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell by nearly $2 a barrel on Thursday after another round of remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell fanned worries U.S. interest rate hikes wouldslow economic growth. Brent crude futures settled at $110.05 a barrel, falling 1.5 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $104.27 a barrel, down 1.8 percent. Spot gold fell 0.8 percent to $1,822.64 per ounce. Spot silver fell 2.2 percent to $20.92 per ounce, platinum was down 2.4 percent at $904.60 and palladium fell 1 percent to $1,844.81.

In European Equity Markets stocks hit more than one-year lows on Thursday as slowing euro zone business activity heightened growth worries, while German shares fell 1.8 percent after the country triggered the “alarm stage” of its emergency gas plan. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index lost 0.8 percent, with euro zone banks shedding 4.5 percent. Other economically sensitive sectors including automakers, miners and oil & gas stocks lost between 2 percent and 3.6 percent. Healthcare, utilities and some luxury names were the only gainers on Thursday.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell to two-week lows on Thursday on concerns that the Federal Reserve will cause a recession by aggressively hiking interest rates, and on a growing belief that yields may have topped for the near term even if inflation stays high. Benchmark 10-year yields fell to 3.005 percent, before rebounding to 3.070 percent. Two-year Treasury yields reached 2.876 percent, before rising back to 3.012 percent. They are down from 3.456 percent on June 14, which was the highest since November 2007.