In Asian Equity Markets Japanese stocks rose on Friday, led by cyclical and technology stocks, as markets tracked a strong finish on Wall Street, although the gains were capped by a cautious outlook of U.S. equities and worries around the domestic economy’s recovery. The Nikkei index gained 0.73 percent to 29,084.95, while the broader Topix rose 0.64 percent to 1,959.61. Chinese blue-chips rose 0.43 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.61 percent, Seoul’s Kospi was up 0.79 percent and Australian stocks climbed 0.22 percent.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held near multi-month highs on Friday as investors warily awaited U.S. inflation data, while the pound nursed modest losses after Bank of England (BoE) policymakers leaned away from flagging rate rises. The U.S. dollar index was steady at 91.833, off a week-ago high of 92.408 but clear of troughs below 90 that it had decreased in May.  Early Asia trade was steady, with the euro at $1.1930 and the yen just short of a 15-month low at 110.955 per dollar. In Australia, despite booming terms of trade, the Aussie held at $0.7584.

In US Equity Markets the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes closed at record highs on Thursday, with the Dow also rising after U.S. President Joe Biden embraced a bipartisan Senate infrastructure deal. The Dow rose 0.95 percent to end at 34,196.49 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.58 percent to 4,266.37. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.67 percent to 14,367.50. Eli Lilly and Co hit a record high after the drugmaker said it would apply for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug this year.

In Commodities Markets oil prices settled up, hovering near the previous session’s three-year highs set amid drawdowns in U.S. inventories and accelerating German economic activity. Brent settled up 0.5 percent, at $75.56 a barrel. U.S. crude settled up 22 cents at $73.30 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $73.61 earlier. Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,776.65 per ounce and U.S. gold futures settled 0.4 percent lower at $1,776.70. Silver gained 0.4 percent to $25.97 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.9 percent to $1,093.59. Palladium was up 1.2 percent at $2,644.94.

In European Equity Markets Britain’s FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, led by mining and healthcare-related stocks as the Bank of England kept its crisis-era monetary policy unchanged, while cruise operator Carnival fell after a quarterly loss of over $2 billion. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended up 0.6 percent, with drugmaker AstraZeneca and miners Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Group providing the biggest boost to the index. The STOXX 600 gained 0.87 percent, ending near an all-time high set earlier this month after news that German business morale hit its highest in 2-1/2 years.

In Bond Markets weaker than anticipated readings on jobless claims and durable good orders kept Treasury yields in a tight range Thursday as investors saw little reason for the Federal Reserve to deviate from its plans to raise interest rates in 2023. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields touched 1.504 percent overnight but hovered around 1.4919 percent after Biden’s announcement. Yields of short term 2-year Treasuries edged higher at 0.2661 percent, while long duration 30-year Treasury yields fell to 2.1008 percent.