In European Equity Markets stocks were down on Monday as growing inflation expectations and rising bond yields took their toll on equity markets. Europe’s STOXX 600 fell 1.6 percent to close at its lowest level since mid-November 2017. It was its sixth straight day of declines. All sectors were in the red on Monday, but the rise in bond yields particularly hit sectors with high-dividend paying stocks. Ryanair fell 2.7 percent after the airline struck a cautious tone about fares and potential disruption from pilot unions, though it reported rising profits. Gold miner Randgold Resources fell 7.4 percent after saying that it was fighting to prevent the adoption of a new mining code in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Randgold Resources also doubled its dividend after profits rose 14 percent in 2017.

In Currency Markets the US dollar remained mired near three-year lows on Monday after rebounding at the end of last week as resurgent U.S. wage inflation data failed to quell skepticism among investors about the currency’s outlook. A strong U.S. jobs report on Friday showed wages growing at their fastest pace in more than eight years, leading to a rebound for the dollar and raising the possibility of more tightening by the Federal Reserve than markets had anticipated. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies stood little changed at 89.202 on Monday after gaining 0.6 percent on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar hovered at $1.2455, against the three-year low of $1.2538 it reached last week. The dollar struggled to hold on to gains against the yen, falling 0.4 percent to 109.74 yen after reaching 110.485 yen on Friday.

In Commodities Markets oil prices neared their lowest in a month on Monday as rising U.S. output and a weaker physical market added to the pressure from a widespread decline across equities and commodities. Brent crude futures were down 70 cents at $67.88 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crud fell 42 cents to $65.03. Saudi Arabia over the weekend said it had cut the official selling prices for its crude to European customers, a sign that the world’s largest oil exporter may be warding off potential weakness in the region. Adding to the pressure on oil, which hit its highest in nearly three years two weeks ago, has been evidence of rising U.S. crude production, which could threaten the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ effort to support prices. U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second week in a row last week.

In US Equity Markets stocks pared losses to trade little changed in late morning trading on Monday as a rise in bond yields paused and technology stocks gained. The S&P 500 and the Dow saw their worst weeks since early January 2016 while the Nasdaq recorded its worst week since early Feb 2016. Shares of Apple rose 1.7 percent and were the biggest boost to all the three major indexes. The tech sector was the biggest gainer with a 0.62 percent rise. The S&P 500 was down 0.24 points, at 2,761.89. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.31 percent, at 7,263.16. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index’s 0.89 percent fall leading the decliners. Qualcomm fell 2.3 percent after KGI Securities said Apple might drop the chipmaker in favor of Intel as the supplier for modem chips in its next generation of iPhones. Shares of Intel rose 2.3 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields recovered from almost four-year highs reached overnight on Monday as investors weighed whether a dramatic week-long selloff had run its course, after improving economic data raised expectations of further rate hikes this year. Benchmark 10-year note yields jumped to 2.885 percent overnight, the highest since January 2014, following data Friday that showed hourly wages rose in January. They fell back to 2.841 percent in morning trading in New York. Greece is planning the sale of a seven-year bond ‘in the near future’, authorities said in a regulatory filing to the country’s stock exchange on Monday. The move is a step towards the country building a cash buffer of up to 19 billion euros to cover debt repayments after it exits its current international bailout which ends in August.