In Asian Equity Markets indices were mostly lower on Thursday morning. The Nikkei 225 lost its earlier gains to trade down by 0.16 percent in the morning, while the Topix index remained up by 0.36 percent, with most sectors still seeing gains. Following an announcement Tuesday that Toyota and Softbankwould be holding a joint news conference, shares of Toyota were up by 1.26 percent in the morning while Softbank’s stock rose by 1.9 percent. The Kospi slid further from its earlier losses to trade down by 1.04 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar hit an 11-month high against the yen and stood tall against other its peers on Thursday, boosted by a spike in Treasury yields following upbeat U.S. data and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that were seen as hawkish. The dollar stretched an overnight rally to touch 114.55 yen, its highest since early November 2017. It last stood at 114.345. A rise above 114.735 yen would take the U.S. currency to its highest level since mid-March 2017.

In Commodities Markets oil prices on Thursday fell from four-year highs reached the previous session, pressured by rising U.S. inventories and after sources said Russia and Saudi Arabia struck a private deal in September to raise crude output.  Brent crude oil futures were trading at $85.85 per barrel, down 44 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close. Brent on Wednesday hit a four-year high of $86.74 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 30 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $76.11 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets indices advanced on Wednesday and the Dow closed at a record for a second day, after U.S. economic data fueled a rise in Treasury yields, lifting financial stocks. The S&P 500 gained 0.07 percent, to 2,925.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 25.54 points, or 0.32 percent, to 8,025.09. Utilities sectors were off by 1.23 percent and real estate was down 0.98 percent. General Motors rose 2.1 percent after Honda Motor said it would invest $2 billion over 12 years in the U.S. carmaker’s Cruise self-driving unit.

In Bond Markets the yield on 30-year Japanese government bonds rose to its highest since February 2016 on Thursday, pulled higher as U.S. Treasury yields spiked to seven-year peaks. The 30-year JGB yield was up 2 basis points at 0.935 percent, a level unseen since February 2016. The benchmark 10-year yield climbed 1.5 basis points to 0.150 percent, its highest since February 2017. The 10-year Treasury yield reached a seven-year high of 3.2 percent after Wednesday’s upbeat U.S. economic data bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.