In Asian Equity Markets indices were largely negative on Thursday afternoon, on the back of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on inflation after the central bank decided to increase interest rates. The Nikkei 225 in Japan reversed course once again, losing its earlier gains to trade lower by 0.55 percent in the afternoon, despite the shipping industry advancing by 0.65 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi lost some of its earlier gains but remained up by 0.38 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar steadied against its peers on Thursday as a brief boost from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike faded, with lower U.S. Treasury yields reducing support for the greenback. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies inched up 0.1 percent to 94.293, adding to modest gains made overnight. As expected, the Fed raised interest rates for the third time this year on Wednesday. It still foresees another rate hike in December, three more next year, and one increase in 2020.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose by 1 percent on Thursday as investors focused on the prospect of tighter markets due to U.S. sanctions against major crude exporter Iran, which are set to be implemented in November. Front-month Brent crude futures were at $82.17 per barrel, up by 83 cents, or 1 percent from their last close, just off Tuesday’s four-year highs. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $72.41 a barrel, up 84 cents, or 1.2 percent from their last settlement.

In US Equity Markets indices turned negative shortly before the market close on Wednesday after investors reassessed the Federal Reserve’s policy statement and reduced their risk as they weighed how long the U.S. central bank would continue to raise interest rates. The S&P 500 lost 0.33 percent to 2,905.97. During the session, the S&P 500 traded up as much as 0.53 percent. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.21 percent to 7,990.37. The S&P 500 health index rose 0.20 percent, led by biotechs, while the newly formed communication services index rose 0.35 percent.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices gained on Thursday, with the market getting relief after the Bank of Japan kept unchanged the amount of longer-dated debt it offered to buy at a regular operation. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield dipped half a basis point to 0.115 percent, while the 30-year yield dropped 1.5 basis points to 0.890 percent. The JGB market was also supported after U.S. Treasuries gained overnight, with the 10-year note yield pulling back from four-month highs.