In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.28%, retracing some of its earlier losses, and the Topix index declined 0.61%. Automakers mostly declined as shares of Nissan fell 1.52%, Mazda Motor fell 3.23% while Toyota erased earlier losses to finish flat. Tech conglomerate SoftBank Group declined 2.86% while banking and financial stocks also traded lower. In South Korea, the Kospi index erased losses to trade 0.22% higher. Major stock indexes in India, Singapore and Indonesia traded lower.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar held gains on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting hosed down some aggressive expectations the central bank would embark on a series of deep interest rate cuts. The dollar held steady at 106.50 yen following a 0.36% gain on Wednesday, its biggest since Aug. 13. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar traded at 0.9829, close to a two-week high of 0.9831. The greenback drifted higher versus the Chinese yuan in offshore trade, last trading at 7.0694 yuan.

In Commodities Markets oil futures steadied on Wednesday after U.S. government data showed a drawdown in domestic crude stocks but rises in refined product inventories, while lingering worries about the global economy weighed on the market. Brent crude futures rose 27 cents to settle at $60.30 a barrel, down from a session high of $61.41. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 45 cents to settle at $55.68 a barrel, after hitting $57.13 a barrel. Prices pared gains after data from the Energy Information Administration showed bigger-than-expected builds in U.S. fuel inventories last week.

In US Equity Markets indices rose on Wednesday as upbeat earnings from retailers pointed to strength in U.S. consumer demand, and held gains after minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers had debated a more aggressive interest rate cut. The S&P 500 gained 0.82%, to 2,924.43 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.90%, to 8,020.21. Among individual stocks, shares of Toll Brothers Inc fell 4.5% after the luxury home-builder posted a decline in orders, hinting at weaker demand for new homes.

In Bond Markets benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose off session lows on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed that policymakers were united in wanting to avoid the appearance of being on the path to further rate cuts. Benchmark 10-year notes fell 5/32 in price to yield 1.576%, up from 1.559% late on Tuesday. The 2-year, 10-year yield curve briefly inverted for the first time in a week in late afternoon trading, by as much as 0.20 basis point.