In Asian Equity Markets stocks gave up early gains to fall again on Thursday, weighed by declines in China and Hong Kong, even after a strong lead-in from Wall Street which had also pushed the dollar to the lower end of its recent range. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last down 0.45 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei, shed 0.47 percent. There were gains on Thursday in Australia, up 0.65 percent, but the Hong Kong benchmark fell 0.42 percent with property names continuing to drag – embattled developer China Evergrande Group fell another 8 percent. Chinese blue chips lost 0.66 percent.
In Currency Markets the dollar drifted near the middle of its range of the past month versus major peers on Thursday, as traders looked to next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting for indications on how soon the U.S central bank will start to taper stimulus. The dollar index was at 92.483, little changed from Wednesday. The dollar bought 109.33 yen, little changed from Wednesday and the euro was flat at $1.1816. The kiwi was 0.23 percent higher at $0.7125, after briefly rising as much as 0.47 percent. The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.7335.
In US Equity Markets stocks advanced on Wednesday as surging crude prices boosted energy shares and a swath of U.S. data suggested inflation has crested and an economic revival has become increasingly certain. The Dow rose 0.72 percent, to 34,825.25; the S&P 500 gained 0.80 percent, at 4,478.79; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.62 percent, at 15,131.72. While all 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 were green, energy was by far the best performer, benefiting from a jump in crude prices driven by a drawdown in U.S. stocks.
In Commodities Markets gold retreated below the key $1,800 level on Wednesday, hit by a bout of technical selling after it failed to hold recent gains as investors looked past a subdued dollar and sought clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s tapering strategy. Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to $1,793.20 per ounce. Platinum hit a more than nine-month low of $925.50 per ounce and was last down 0.1 percent at $938.74. Palladium rose 1.5 percent to $2,008.07. Silver shed 0.2 percent to $23.78. U.S. crude settled up 3.1 percent at $72.61 a barrel, and Brent ended 2.5 percent higher at $75.46 a barrel.
In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday as utilities fell on Spain’s move to cap energy bills, while luxury stocks continued to weaken on worries about a slowing Chinese economy. The utilities sector fell 2.9 percent, with Europe’s biggest utility, Enel falling more than 5 percent. Spain’s IBEX lost 1.7 percent, the most among regional indexes. The benchmark STOXX 600 index was down 0.8 percent, and off about 2.5 percent from the record high in mid-August. French luxury goods makers LVMH and Kering fell over 4 percent each.
In Bond Markets U.S. government bond yields ticked higher on Wednesday, in a bounce back as the 10-year yield touched a fresh three-week low following economic data that showed further evidence that inflation had probably peaked. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 2.3 basis points to 1.302 percent after earlier touching a three-week low of 1.26 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up 1.3 basis points to 1.865 percent. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 0.4 basis points at 0.213 percent.