In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased early losses to advance 0.16 percent, bucking the broader decline in the region. Airline stocks were buoyed after the fall in oil prices overnight while the Topix oil and mining sectors slid 1.42 percent and 2.51 percent, respectively. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.25 percent, with gains in tech heavyweights failing to give the overall index a boost as steelmakers and financials took a hit. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1 percent, with the energy subindex’s 1.44 percent decline contributing to losses. Greater China markets eased, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipping 0.51 percent as energy and tech sector stocks moved lower.

In Currency Markets the yen stepped back from a two-week high against the dollar on Friday when North Korea said it was open to resolving issues with the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump called off a June summit with its leader, Kim Jong Un. The yen fell 0.3 percent to 109.60 yen in early Asian trade following conciliatory comments from North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. The euro was little changed at $1.1718, and still on track for a sixth consecutive week of falling against the dollar, hobbled by worries over a deepening economic slowdown in the currency bloc. Six falling weeks would be its longest such streak since January 2015.

In Commodities Markets oil prices eased on Friday as Russia hinted it may gradually increase output, after having withheld supplies in concert with producer cartel OPEC since 2017. Brent crude futures were at $78.69 per barrel, down 10 cents from their last close, and more than 2.2 percent below the $80.50 November 2014 high they reached on May 17. Brent broke through $80 for the first time in more than three years earlier in May. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $70.62 a barrel, down 9 cents from their last settlement. U.S. crude oil production has risen by more than a quarter in the last two years, to 10.73 million barrels per day (bpd). Only Russia produces more, at around 11 million bpd.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended down slightly on Thursday after President Donald Trump canceled a planned summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports, though losses were limited by gains in Netflix and General Electric. The S&P 500 lost 0.20 percent, to 2,727.76 and the Nasdaq Composite ended flat at 7,424.43. A decline in energy shares following lower oil prices also weighed on the market, with the S&P energy index ending down 1.7 percent. On the flip side, General Electric rose 3 percent, rebounding from the previous session’s losses, and Netflix’s stock gained 1.3 percent, both helping the market.

In Bond Markers U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday on safety buying after President Donald Trump called off a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and as the Turkish lira renewed its decline. Demand for U.S. bonds helped the Treasury sell $30 billion in seven-year notes on Thursday to strong demand, the final sale of $99 billion in coupon-bearing supply this week, at a yield of 2.930 percent, which was below the 2.952 percent yield on the seven-year supply auctioned in April. The ratio of bids to the amount of seven-year Treasuries offered was 2.62, the strongest reading since January. This measure of overall auction demand last month came in at 2.56.