In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei index on Friday posted its biggest weekly decline in more than two years, tracking Wall Street’s plunge, even as the Bank of Japan maintained its massive stimulus and provided no negative surprises. The Nikkei index ended 1.77 percent lower at 25,963.00, its lowest close since May 12, after falling as much as 2.7 percent earlier in the session. The broader Topix lost 1.71 percent to 1,835,90, shedding 5.5 percent in the week. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell to a five-week low, dragged by selling in Australia where the ASX 200 lost 1.8 percent.

In Currency Markets the yen retreated sharply from its highest point in nearly two weeks on Friday, after the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-easy policy unchanged, defying pressure from aggressive tightening at peers including the Federal Reserve and Swiss National Bank. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers including the yen, rose 0.23 percent to 104.12, after falling to the lowest since June 10 at 103.41 overnight. Sterling lost 0.42 percent to $1.2300, while the euro fell 0.24 percent to $1.0527. The dollar bounced 0.28 percent to 0.9694 Swiss franc.

In US Equity Markets stock indexes closed sharply lower on Thursday in a broad sell-off as recession fears grew following moves by central banks around the globe to stamp out rising inflation after the Federal Reserve’s largest rate hike since 1994. The Dow fell 2.42 percent, to 29,927.07, the S&P 500 lost 3.25 percent, to 3,666.77 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 4.08 percent, to 10,646.10. The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose to slightly below the one-month high of 35.05 touched earlier this week.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday in topsy-turvy trading after the United States announced new sanctions on Iran, and as energy markets stayed focused on supply concerns that have sent prices soaring this year. Brent crude futures settled at $119.81, up 1.1 percent, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended up 2 percent, at $117.58. Spot gold was last up 0.9 percent at $1,849.68 per ounce. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 1.2 percent to $21.90 per ounce, platinum gained 1.3 percent to $951.52 and palladium rose 1.4 percent to $1,887.50.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday after policy tightening in Britain and Switzerland fuelled fresh worries about the impact of inflation on the global economy. The index declined 2.5 percent, hitting its lowest level since February 2021. The Swiss equities index lost 2.9 percent, lagging major regional European markets, with banking heavyweights such as UBS and Credit Suisse down 4.9 percent and 6 percent, respectively. The retail sector fell 3.8 percent after British online fashion retailer ASOS lost 32.5 percent and warned inflationary pressures were affecting shopping behaviour.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday as fears of a recession dented risk appetite and boosted demand for safe haven U.S. debt, a day after the Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark interest rate by the most since 1994. Two-year Treasury yields, which are highly sensitive to interest rate moves, fell to 3.158 percent and are down from 3.456 percent on Tuesday, which was the highest since November 2007. Benchmark 10-year yields fell to 3.307 percent, after reaching 3.498 percent on Tuesday, the highest since April 2011.