In Asian Equity Markets stocks rose on Monday amid speculation that interest rates will remain low due to receding inflationary pressure. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.35 percent, while Australian stocks hit their highest in more than a year, boosted by gains in miners, and shares in China rose 0.46 percent. Japanese shares gained 0.91 percent. Hong Kong shares rise in morning trade, showing signs of recovery after range-bound trading last week. The benchmark Hang Seng Index gains 0.5 percent.

In Currency Markets Asian currencies mostly weaken against the U.S. dollar in Asia’s morning amid higher Treasury yields that boost the appeal of USD-denominated fixed-income assets. The dollar index stood at 90.178. The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.2172, earlier touching the highest since Feb. 26 at $1.2177. The dollar was little changed at 108.57 yen, not far from its lowest since April 27. The Aussie dollar ticked 0.1 percent higher to $0.78535, close to Friday’s more-than-two-month high of 0.7863. The British pound rallied 0.3 percent, rising as high as $1.4036 for the first time since Feb. 25.

In US Equity Markets the Dow and S&P 500 hit record closing highs on Friday while registering gains for the week, and the Nasdaq recovered after U.S. jobs data eased concerns over prospects for rising rates. U.S. job growth unexpectedly slowed in April, likely restrained by shortages of workers, the Labor Department report showed. The consumer durables & apparel, energy and semiconductors sectors performed the best. Centene Corp jumped 8.1 percent becoming the top gainer in the S&P 500. The Dow rose 0.66 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.74 percent, and the Nasdaq added 0.88 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices were little changed on Friday as the COVID-19 crisis in India worsened, but prices were set for a weekly gain against the backdrop of optimism over a global economic recovery. Brent crude futures rose 19 cents to settle at $68.28 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 19 cents to settle at $64.90 a barrel. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.9 percent at $1,831.30 an ounce, while silver rose 0.4 percent to $27.41 per ounce. Platinum fell 0.2 percent to $1,250.48, while Palladium eased 0.7 percent to $2,925.15.

In European Equity Markets stocks closed at a record high on Friday, marking strong weekly gains as positive economic data and upbeat earnings underpinned hopes of a swift economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. European technology stocks were the best performers for the day, rising 2.2 percent as they recovered from a rout seen earlier in the week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.9 percent. The German DAX rose 1.3 percent, inching closer to its lifetime high, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.45 percent and UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.76 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rebounded after hitting two-month lows on Friday following data that showed a much smaller-than-expected jobs gain in April, with yields on longer-dated debt rising for the session as investors remained confident the economy was on the road to a strong recovery. The benchmark 10-year yield was last up 1.6 basis points on the day at 1.5771 percent, while the 30-year yield fell to its lowest level since March 1 at 2.158 percent. The two-year Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was last 1 basis point lower at 0.1468%.