In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed on Thursday, following modest gains on Wall Street, where the Dow closed higher for the first time in six sessions. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.59 percent, while the Topix traded near flat. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was up 1.39 percent. But Greater China markets were down in late morning trade. The Shanghai composite lost 1 percent and the Shenzhen composite shed 1.34 percent, with losses seen in most sectors including banks, property and autos. Australia’s ASX 200 was near flat after the market was closed on Wednesday for a public holiday.

In Currency Markets the dollar traded near a 3-1/2-month high against a basket of currencies on Thursday, bolstered by higher U.S. Treasury yields, led by the 10-year benchmark breaching the 3 percent threshold this week for the first time in four years. The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies was at 91.136, having risen to a high of 91.261 on Wednesday, its strongest since Jan. 12. The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2179 but was still within sight of a near two-month low of $1.2160 set on Wednesday.  Against the yen, the dollar set a 2-1/2-month high of 109.49 yen but later eased to 109.30 yen, down 0.1 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday, supported by an expectation that the United States will re-impose sanctions against Iran, a decline in output in Venezuela and ongoing strong demand. Brent crude oil futures were at 74.42 per barrel, up 42 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $68.38 per barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which would likely result in a reduction of its oil exports. Further pushing oil prices has been declining output in Venezuela, OPEC’s biggest producer in Latin America.

In US Equity Markets ended into positive territory on Wednesday on optimism over a spate of upbeat earnings that was nearly offset by jitters over rising U.S. bond yields and corporate costs. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up after a choppy session, with the Dow ending a five-day losing streak, but the Nasdaq posted its fifth straight loss, weighed down by technology stocks. The S&P 500 gained 0.18 percent, to 2,639.4 and the Nasdaq Composite ended flat at 7,003.74. Twitter fell 2.4 percent after the social media company said it expects a slowdown in revenue growth and increasing costs, putting a damper on its otherwise upbeat earnings report.

In Bond Markets the benchmark U.S. Treasury 10-year yield edged above 3 percent on Wednesday as jitters about growing federal borrowing spurred more selling in the U.S. government bonds, paving the path for it to visit levels not seen since July 2011. The U.S. Treasury Department sold $17 billion in 2-year floating-rate notes following by a $35 billion auction of 5-year securities to solid investor demand. They followed mediocre demand for $32 billion of a new 2-year issue on Tuesday.  The latest 5-year issue fetched a yield of 2.837 percent, the highest yield at a 5-year auction since September 2008. The 10-year yield ended 5 basis points higher at 3.030 percent.