In Asian Equity Markets stocks were narrowly mixed early on Friday, with investors cautious over trade tensions after the U.S. announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from several of its allies would be reapplied. The Nikkei 225 edged up by 0.22 percent and the broader Topix rose 0.35 percent. Automakers were among the best-performing sectors in the morning, with gains also seen in materials and banks. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.64 percent, outperforming its regional peers. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.25 percent but was off its session low, with the energy and financial sectors contributing to the decline.

In Currency Markets the euro seemed set to post its first weekly gain in seven weeks on Friday as worries over Italy’s political crisis eased, but the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso were looking frail after Washington went ahead with stiff tariffs on imported steel. The euro traded at $1.1692, little changed on the day but keeping intact its recovery from Tuesday’s 10-month low of $1.1510. So far this week it is up 0.4 percent after six straight falling weeks, hit by signs of slowdown in the euro zone economy and political instability in Italy and Spain. The Canadian dollar stood at C$1.2950 to the U.S. dollar, after falling 0.65 percent the previous day.

In Commodities Markets crude oil futures lost more ground on Friday, with the U.S. market set for a second week of decline on pressure from record U.S. production and expectations of OPEC boosting output. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $66.88 a barrel by 0423 GMT, after falling almost 2 percent on Thursday. Global benchmark Brent crude, which was little changed in the previous session, was down 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $77.47 per barrel. For the week, WTI is on track for a 1.5 percent fall, adding to last week’s near 5 percent decline, while Brent is set to rise 1.3 percent, widening the spread between the two benchmarks.

In US Equity Markets  stocks fell on Thursday after the United States moved to impose tariffs on metal imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, prompting retaliatory measures from some of its trading partners. The S&P 500 lost 0.59 percent, to 2,707.82 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.19 percent, to 7,447.91. Shares of industrial giants Boeing Co and Caterpillar Inc slipped 1.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. General Motors Co shares led the S&P 500 in percentage gains, rising 12.6 percent after Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp said it would invest $2.25 billion in GM’s autonomous vehicle unit.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields on the long end of the curve fell on Thursday after the United States slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, rekindling fears of a trade war.  These global headlines also outweighed U.S. economic reports such as U.S. consumer spending and initial jobless claims that were solid overall, affirming expectations of at least two more rate hikes this year.  U.S. 10-year yields fell to 2.831 percent, from Wednesday’s 2.844 percent. U.S. 30-year yields fell to 2.992 percent, from 3.017 percent late on Wednesday.