In Asian Equity Markets indices traded higher Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.93%. Samsung Electronics reported earnings that were better than guidance given by the firm earlier in October. Operating profit for the three months ending in September fell 56% as compared to the same period a year ago. Its shares jumped more than 1% after the earnings was out. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.31%, with shares of index heavyweight Softbank Group jumping 3.66%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.06%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell slightly against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year but signaled its rate-cut cycle might be at a pause, as was broadly expected. The euro last changed hands at $1.1167, while the greenback last traded at 108.66 yen. The Australian and New Zealand dollars firmed as investors scaled back wagers on local interest rate cuts after the Fed indicated it might be pausing in its easing campaign.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday as investors banked on more economic stimulus by China after weak PMI data, partly recovering from losses in the previous session on a surprise build in U.S. crude stocks. Brent crude futures were up 24 cents, or 0.4%, at $60.85 a barrel, having fallen earlier in the session. They fell by 1.6% on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up by 10 cents, 0.2%, at $55.16 a barrel. They ended 0.9% lower the previous session.

In US Equity Markets indices gained ground on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled a pause in the current easing cycle following the expected announcement of a rate cut. The S&P 500 gained 0.33%, to 3,046.77 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.33%, to 8,303.98. Buoying the Dow was a 2.5% rise in shares of Johnson & Johnson. The company said 15 new tests found no asbestos in a bottle of baby powder that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says tested positive for trace amounts of asbestos. FDA said it stands by its finding.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year, as expected, but signaled that monetary easing could be on hold. The two-year yield, which reflects market expectations of interest rate policy, had initially risen on the signaled pause in easing. It was last down 3.6 basis points at 1.606%, with the 10-year yield down 6.2 basis points at 1.772%. The spread between the two- and 10-year yields narrowed to as little as 14.8 basis points, the tightest since mid-October, before widening to 16.4 basis points.