In Asian Equity Markets stocks were unable to sustain a rare rally on Monday as Wall Street futures shed early gains amid worries the U.S. Federal Reserve would this week underline its commitment to fighting inflation with whatever rate hikes were needed. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.8 percent and Tokyo’s Nikkei 1.4 percent. The broader Topix was down 1.24 percent to 1,813.18. Chinese blue chips held steady perhaps aided by news President Joe Biden was considering removing some tariffs on China.

In Currency Markets the dollar was down on Monday morning in Asia as the economic outlook remained uncertain. The U.S. Dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies fell 0.29 percent to 104.40. Against Japanese yen, the dollar inched down 0.03 percent to 134.93. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its ultra-loose monetary policies among its hawkish global peers, sending the yen even lower. The Aussie dollar gained 0.44 percent to $0.6960, while the kiwi jumped 0.36 percent to $0.6327. Sterling edged up 0.11 percent to $1.2238.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed with a modest bounce on Friday but still suffered the biggest weekly percentage decline in two years as investors wrestled with the growing likelihood of a recession while global central banks tried to stamp out inflation. The Dow fell 0.13 percent, to 29,888.78, the S&P 500 gained 0.22 percent, at 3,674.84 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.43 percent, at 10,798.35. Gains were led by the communication services and consumer discretionary sectors, which rose 1.31 percent and up 1.22 percent, respectively, on the session.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell about 6 percent to a four-week low on Friday on worries that interest rate hikes by major central banks could slow the global economy and cut demand for energy. Brent futures fell 5.6 percent, to settle at $113.12 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 6.8 percent, to settle at $109.56. Spot gold was down 1 percent at $1,837.59 per ounce. Silver fell 1.5 percent to $21.60 per ounce, platinum lost 2.2 percent to $929.29 and palladium shed 3.1 percent to $1,821.15.

In European Equity Markets stocks edged higher on Friday, but posted their third straight week of losses as a slew of interest rate hikes from major central banks fuelled worries about a sharp economic slowdown. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.1 percent in volatile trade, but ended the week 4.6 percent lower. Among the worst-hit European sectors this week were technology, retail and commodity-linked sectors such as oil & gas and miners. Finland-based Nokian Tyres jumped 10.3 percent after the tyre maker raised its net sales guidance for 2022.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields held near this week’s lows on Friday after a volatile five days that saw them hit more than 10-year highs on expectations of aggressive rate hikes, and then fall on concerns about how these will impact growth. Benchmark 10-year yields were at 3.239 percent, after reaching 3.498 percent on Tuesday, the highest since April 2011. Two-year Treasury yields, which are highly sensitive to interest rate moves, were last at 3.166 percent and are down from 3.456 percent on Tuesday, which was the highest since November 2007.