In Asian Equity Markets stocks were mixed on Friday morning as slight gains in China were balanced by declines elsewhere and investors globally turned cautious ahead of a long-awaited speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.1 percent while Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.46 percent. Australian shares fell 0.18 percent, and Hong Kong and Korea were flat. Chinese blue chips gained 0.57 percent after China’s central bank made its biggest weekly cash injection into the banking system since February.

In Currency Markets the dollar was down on Friday morning in Asia, with investors digesting hawkish comments from some U.S. Federal Reserve officials ahead of Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later in the day. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of other currencies inched down 0.04 percent to 93.037. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar inched down 0.08 percent to 109.98. The sterling inched down 0.03 percent to $1.3695. The Aussie edged up 0.10 percent to $0.7241.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Thursday, ending a streak of all-time closing highs on concerns over developments in Afghanistan, while fears of a potential shift in U.S. Federal Reserve policy prompted a broad but shallow sell-off the day before the Jackson Hole Symposium. The Dow fell 0.54 percent, to 35,213.12, the S&P 500 lost 0.58 percent, to 4,469.92 and the Nasdaq Composite 0.64 percent, to 14,945.81. Discount retailers Dollar General Corp and Dollar Tree Inc slid 3.8 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively, after warning higher transportation costs will hurt their bottom lines.

In Commodities Markets gold prices stabilised after a sharp retreat on Thursday, taking a firmer dollar in its stride as investors looked forward to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stance on tapering economic support at its Jackson Hole symposium. Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,792.01 per ounce. Elsewhere, silver fell 1.4 percent to $23.52 an ounce, platinum lost 1.7 percent to $979.53, and palladium shed 1.3 percent to $2,397.67. Oil prices fell after three days of gains, with Brent crude down 0.9 percent at $71.56 per barrel and U.S. crude fell 1.2 percent to $67.5 a barrel.

In European Equity Markets stocks ended lower on Thursday after data showed faltering German consumer morale amid rising COVID-19 cases, while investors fretted over U.S. monetary policy ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.3 percent. European travel company Tui, airlines Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways-owner IAG fell by between 0.9 percent and 3.8 percent. Germany’s blue-chip DAX lost 0.4 percent, marking its lowest closing level in a week, while the UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 declined by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell from two-week highs on Thursday, a day ahead of a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the week’s most anticipated event, which will be scoured for any  hints on when the U.S. central bank is likely to begin paring bond purchases. Benchmark 10-year note yields ended little changed on the day at 1.339 percent, after reaching 1.375 percent following Bullard’s comments, the highest since Aug. 12. Five-year note yields also rose, to 0.860 percent, the highest since July 6, before fading back to 0.840 percent.