In European Equity Markets indexes closed lower Thursday, as investors reacted to a flurry of corporate earnings and monitored losses from Wall Street. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down half a percent, with almost most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Telecommunications stocks were among the worst performers, dragged down by Danish telecoms operator TDC. Shares of TDC fell toward the bottom of the pan-European benchmark after reports it had reached a deal to buy Swedish Modern Times Group’s broadcasting and entertainment’s business. The firm’s stock fell 8 percent. Vodafone reported a 1.1 percent rise in organic revenue for its third quarter, citing intense competition in Spain and Italy. Its shares were down more than 4 percent. Royal Dutch Shell reported that profits more than doubled in the fourth quarter of 2017, supported by a recent rally in oil and gas prices. Its shares were trading more than 2 percent lower, however.

In Currency Markets the US dollar failed to hold onto its gains against a basket of currencies on Thursday, the day after the Federal Reserve said it expected inflation to rise this year. In January, the dollar clocked in its worst monthly performance since March 2016, falling 3.25 percent. The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but bolstered expectations that they would continue to rise by saying inflation was likely to accelerate this year. The dollar also pared its gains against the yen. It was up 0.29 percent at 109.49 yen, compared with 109.74 yen. The dollar hit a four-month low of 108.27 against the yen on Friday. Meanwhile, the euro rose against the dollar by 0.14 percent to $1.2437, supported by a survey on Thursday that showed euro zone manufacturing was booming. Sterling rose 0.07 percent to $1.42. The Australian dollar fell 0.62 percent to $0.8004, after its recent run-up came to an end.

In Commodities Markets oil rose on Thursday after a survey showed OPEC’s commitment to its supply cuts remains in place, even as U.S. production topped 10 million barrels per day for the first time since 1970. Brent April crude futures rose 59 cents to $69.48 a barrel, while NYMEX crude for March delivery also rose 59 cents to $65.32. Brent crude rose by 3.3 percent in January, its strongest start to the year for five years, in line with a broad rise in other risk-linked assets such as U.S. equities, which hit record highs last month and marked their biggest January increase since 1997. Goldman Sachs raised its three-month forecast for Brent to $75 from $62 and its six-month forecast to $82.50 from $75. OPEC oil output rose in January from eight-month lows as higher output from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia offset declines in Venezuela and strong compliance with the OPEC-led supply pact, according to a Reuters survey.

In US Equity Markets indexes were modestly lower early on Thursday, following a string of lackluster earnings and after the Federal Reserve raised its inflation outlook for the year. Although the Fed kept rates unchanged, it struck a more hawkish tone than expected, no longer saying it expected price growth to stay below 2 percent. The S&P 500 was down 0.09 percent, at 2,821.04. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.11 percent, at 7,419.32. Eight of the 11 major S&P indexes were lower, with the materials index’s 1.21 percent fall leading the decliners. UPS fell 6.6 percent after the world’s largest package delivery company reported a fourth-quarter net profit that was hurt by additional costs. PayPal fell 7.2 percent after former parent eBay said it planned to move to a new primary payment processor. Facebook rose 3.5 percent after the company forecast rising ad sales, despite a dip in usage on the social media network.

In Bond Markets German 10-year bond yields hit two-year highs on Thursday as yields firmed across the euro zone after policymakers in the United States flagged a potential uptick in inflation in the world’s biggest economy. This pushed U.S. Treasury yields higher, followed on Thursday by euro zone counterparts that had already been at multi-year highs on expectations of tighter policy in Europe. Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, hit a two-year high of 0.738 percent. French 10-year borrowing costs hit 1 percent for the first time since March 2017. Ten-year U.S Treasury yields rose again on Thursday, holding near four-year highs hit in the previous session at about 2.75 percent. Borrowing costs across the bloc rose by 2-3 basis points, with new issuance by France and Spain well absorbed by markets, though peripheral bond yields continued to fall.