In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday as fears about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus weighing on sentiment even as tame U.S. inflation eased fears the Federal Reserve would rush to reduce its economic support. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.25 percent in early trading, dragged by a 0.24 percent decline in Chinese bluchips. The Hong Kong benchmark fell 0.2 percent while Australian stocks were largely flat and Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.35 percent. The weaker performance by Asian benchmarks contrasts with the situation elsewhere in the world.

In Currency Markets the dollar held near a four-month peak against major peers on Thursday after retreating overnight as a cooling in consumer inflation tempered bets for an earlier tightening of U.S. monetary policy. The dollar index was little changed at 92.890. The euro was little changed at $1.1740 after retreating from a four-month low of $1.1706 on Wednesday, which brought it just two tenths of a cent from the weakest level since early November. The dollar eased 0.07 percent to 110.355 yen, continuing to pull back from a five-week high of 110.80 reached overnight.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed at record levels on Wednesday, as data indicated U.S. inflation growth may have peaked, while sectors tied to economic growth advanced on the heels of the passage of a large infrastructure bill. The Dow rose 0.62 percent, to 35,484.97, the S&P 500 gained 0.25 percent, to 4,447.7 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.16 percent, to 14,765.14. The materials and industrials were the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors. Shares of equipment maker Caterpillar Inc advanced 3.55 percent and was the biggest boost to the Dow and peer Deere & Co gained 2.51 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil gained on Wednesday, changing course after the Biden administration said it would not call on U.S. producers to increase crude output, and that efforts to increase OPEC production were a longer-range plan. U.S. crude oil futures settled at $69.25 per barrel, up 1.41 percent. Brent crude futures settled at $71.44 per barrel, up 1.15 percent. Spot gold rose 1.4 percent to $1,752.46 per ounce. Elsewhere, silver rose 1 percent to $23.55 an ounce, platinum rose 2.5 percent to $1,020.07, while palladium fell 0.3 percent to $2,633.90.

In European Equity Markets stocks touched record highs, clocking their longest winning streak in two months on Wednesday on optimism about an upbeat earnings season. The STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 percent to hit an all-time high for an eighth consecutive session, with gains led by retailers, banks and real estate stocks. Germany’s DAX and the UK’s midcap FTSE 250 indexes also scaled new peaks. In earnings, Dutch bank ABN Amro gained 8.6 percent to the top of the STOXX 600, after it said it would resume dividend payments as an economic recovery helped a stronger-than-expected bounce in net profit.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell across most maturities on Wednesday in choppy trading, after a strong 10-year note auction and data showing a slight moderation in consumer prices for the month of July in the world’s largest economy. In late afternoon trading, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 1.5 basis points at 1.327 percent. Earlier in the session, the 10-year yield hit a four-week high of 1.378 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up 1 basis point at 1.994 percent. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, was down 1.7 basis points at 0.221 percent.