In Asian Equity Markets indices traded higher on Friday following hints from Beijing that it will not retaliate against the latest round of tariffs from Washington for now. Mainland Chinese shares advanced in early trade, with the Shanghai composite up 0.6% and then Shenzhen component rising about 0.7%. n Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.04% as shares of index heavyweight and robot maker Fanuc rose 3.09%. Similar gains were seen in South Korea, where the Kospi advanced 1.63% as chipmaker SK Hynix saw its stock jumped 4.23%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held firm against the yen on Friday, as comments from Beijing sparked renewed hopes that China and the United States could get full-fledged negotiations back on track to resolve their protracted trade dispute. Against the yen, the greenback traded at 106.53 yen, flat from late U.S. levels and up 1.1% on the week. The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy bet on the Chinese economy, stood at $0.67295, just about a half cent above its 10-year low of $0.66775 hit on Aug. 7.

In Commodities Markets oil prices eased on Friday after three days of gains, with concerns about the state of the global economy amid the U.S.-China trade war keeping prices in check. U.S. oil fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $56.65 a barrel. The contract is heading for a gain of more than 4% this week, boosted by a decline in U.S inventories and the approach of a hurricane toward Florida. Brent crude was down 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $60.98, after adding 1% on Thursday.

In US Equity Markets indexes rallied on Thursday, led by the trade-sensitive technology and industrial sectors, as China sounded hopeful on trade negotiations with the United States, easing concerns that more combative stances could stoke a recession. The S&P 500 gained 1.39%, to 2,928.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.61%, to 7,983.54. Dollar General Corp was the best performer among S&P 500 companies as its shares jumped 11.08% on an upbeat full-year profit forecast and the S&P retail index climbed 1.79%.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose further on Thursday, hitting session highs as weak results at a $32 billion auction of seven-year government notes touched off a fresh wave of selling in the bond market. The yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were 1.533%, up 6.5 basis points from late on Wednesday. They fell to 1.443% on Monday, which was their lowest level since July 2016.