In Asian Equity Markets stocks swung higher on Monday as Wall Street futures stabilised, though tests loom ahead as UK interest rates are expected to rise this week. Lunar New Year holidays made for thin conditions and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.6 percent in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei bounced 1.3 percent from a 14-month trough, though local data on industrial output and retail sales undershot forecasts. Data out on Sunday showed China’s factory activity slowed in January as a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and tough lockdowns hit production and demand.

In Currency Markets the dollar held most of last week’s gains on Monday but hung just off 18-month highs against major currencies as ebbing market turbulence took some of the bid out of safe-haven assets. The euro was at $1.1161, up 0.16 percent, having fallen to $1.1119 on Friday, its weakest since June 2020. The Aussie was at $0.701, up 0.35 percent, after touching its lowest since July 2020 on Friday. The yen was at 115.47 per dollar. The dollar index down 0.1 percent, but still close to Friday’s 18-month intraday top of 97.441.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Friday, notching its best day so far in 2022 after another zigzag session, ending a tumultuous week marked by mixed corporate earnings, geopolitical turmoil and an increasingly aggressive Federal Reserve. The Dow rose 1.65 percent, to 34,725.47, the S&P 500 gained 2.43 percent, to 4,431.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 3.13 percent, to 13,770.57. Caterpillar Inc fell 5.2 percent following the equipment maker’s warning that higher production and labor costs will pressure its profit margin. Chevron Corp lost 3.5 percent on downbeat fourth-quarter profit.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose to a more than seven-year peak on Friday and recorded their sixth straight weekly gain as geopolitical turmoil exacerbated concerns over tight energy supply. Brent futures rose 69 cents to settle at $90.03 a barrel. U.S. crude closed 21 cents higher at $86.82 per barrel. Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,785.71 per ounce. Spot silver lost 1.8 percent to $22.33 an ounce, and was set to fall about 8 percent for the week. Platinum fell 1.8 percent to $1,004.46, while palladium rose 0.1 percent to $2,378.68, logging a weekly gain of about 12.7 percent.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Friday, with the STOXX 600 index down for the fourth straight week as auto and technology stocks led declines amid the prospect of higher interest rates and concern over the situation in Russia and Ukraine. The pan-European index shed 1.0 percent, paring some losses after falling as much as 2 percent earlier in the day. Auto stocks skidded 1.8 percent, with shares in Volvo falling 3.5 percent after the Swedish truck maker reported lower fourth-quarter core earnings and proposed a smaller-than-expected dividend.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell across the curve on Friday on month-end buying by investors to rebalance their portfolios. The benchmark 10-year yield fell 3.7 basis points to 1.7712 percent, while 30-year yields fell 1.4 basis points to 2.0769 percent. U.S. two-year yields rose to 1.228 percent earlier in the session, the highest since February 2020. U.S. five-year yields, which are also an indicator of the market’s rate outlook, fell 5 basis points to 1.6127 percent. The two-year and 10-year yield curve steepened to as much as 65.10 basis points.