In Asian Equity Markets stocks climbed cautiously on Monday amid hopes that the Federal Reserve might sound less aggressive about rate hikes this week, while wheat prices leapt after Russia withdrew from a pact allowing Ukrainian grain to transit the Black Sea. Gains in Hong Kong, Australia and Korea pushed MSCI’s index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.8 percent. But China stocks fell following weak economic data, and the MSCI index is set for a tenth consecutive monthly loss. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.5 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar advanced on Monday after strong consumer spending data pointed to persistent underlying inflation pressure, cooling bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve could signal a slowdown in its aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign. The yen last traded 148.08 per dollar. The euro last bought $0.99535, but was likewise headed for a monthly gain of over 1 percent, its first since May. Sterling was last 0.12 percent lower at $1.1600. The Australian dollar rose 0.09 percent to $0.6417. The kiwi edged 0.1 percent higher at $0.58215.

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Friday as encouraging economic data and a sunnier earnings outlook fueled investor risk appetite ahead of next week’s much-anticipated two-day policy meeting of the Federal Reserve. The Dow rose 2.59 percent, to 32,861.8, the S&P 500 gained 2.46 percent, to 3,901.06 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.87 percent, to 11,102.45. Intel Corp jumped 10.7 percent after cutting its spending forecast, while T-Mobile US Inc’s subscriber forecast hike sent its shares up 7.4 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices eased about 1 percent on Friday after top crude importer China widened its COVID-19 curbs, though the crude benchmarks were poised for a weekly gain on supply concerns and surprisingly strong economic data. Brent futures fell 1.2 percent, to settle at $95.77 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.3 percent, to $87.90. Spot gold fell 1.3 percent to $1,641.30 per ounce. Spot silver fell 2.1 percent to $19.17 per ounce, platinum fell 1.8 percent to $942.13, while palladium declined 2.4 percent to $1,895.46.

In European Equity Markets stocks closed higher on Friday, as upbeat cues from Wall Street helped offset early losses emanating from weaker commodity prices and mixed earnings reports. After falling as much as 1.1 percent earlier, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose as the session wore on, closing up 0.1 percent at a fresh five-week high. Volkswagen fell 1.9 percent after Europe’s top carmaker reported quarterly earnings behind pre-pandemic levels and said it expected deliveries to be similar to last year. Air France-KLM lost 13.1 percent after the airline trimmed its capacity outlook for the winter.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday after data showed underlying inflation pressures remain elevated, suggesting to the bond market that the Federal Reserve will move forward with its aggressive interest rate hiking campaign. The yield on 10-year notes rose 7.5 basis points to 4.014 percent, while the 30-year yield was up 4.3 basis points to 4.137 percent. The two-year yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 9.5 basis points at 4.416 percent. The breakeven rate on five-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) was last at 2.632 percent.