In Asian Equity Markets stocks were mostly higher on Friday as investors hoped U.S. jobs data due later might sway the Federal Reserve to slow its current aggressive pace of interest rate hikes over the coming months. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.56 percent, riding a strong Wall Street close overnight. Japan’s Nikkei was up 1.2 percent, and shares in Seoul were up 0.46 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.9 percent higher at 7,238.80. For the week, the benchmark rose 0.8 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar wobbled toward its first steady week in three on Friday as traders looked to U.S. jobs data for clues as to how far and fast the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates. The dollar was nursing those losses on Friday and sat at $1.0750 per euro, flat for the week, and 129.85 yen, a gain of about 2 percent. The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars each made multi-week highs and look set for weekly gains. Having broken resistance at $0.72, the Aussie is garnering support ahead of an expected rate rise next week.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended sharply higher on Thursday, led by Tesla, Nvidia and other megacap growth stocks in a choppy session ahead of a key jobs report due on Friday. The S&P 500 climbed 1.84 percent to end the session at 4,176.82 points. The Nasdaq gained 2.69 percent to 12,316.90 points, while Dow rose 1.33 percent to 33,248.28 points. Ford Motor Co rose 2.5 percent after the automaker said it plans to invest $3.7 billion in assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index jumped 3.6 percent to end at its highest level in almost a month.

In Commodities Markets oil rose more than 1 percent on Thursday after U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected amid high demand for fuel, shrugging off OPEC+’s agreement to boost crude output to compensate for a decrease in Russian production. Brent futures settled 1.1 percent, higher at $117.61 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.4 percent, to $116.87. Spot gold rose 1.2 percent to $1,868.41 per ounce. Spot silver rose 2.1 percent to $22.26 per ounce. Platinum gained 2.7 percent to $1,023.69. Palladium was up 2.5 percent to $2,047.73.

In European Equity Markets stocks bounced on Thursday, led by industrial and luxury names, with gains limited by lingering worries over slowing economic growth and rising prices. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6 percent after losing nearly 2 percent over the last two sessions. French spirits group Remy Cointreau climbed 4.9 percent on beating full-year profit estimates and providing an upbeat outlook for this year and beyond. Other luxury stocks followed suit. LVMH, L’Oreal and EssilorLuxottica  were up between 1.7 percent and 3.1 percent, providing the biggest boosts to the index.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Thursday in a data-heavy session a day before a U.S. non-farm payrolls report for May that is likely to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates by half a percentage point a few more times this year. In late afternoon trading, U.S. benchmark 10-year yield lost 1.1 basis points to 2.9204 percent. U.S. 30-year yields were up less than a basis point at 3.0829 percent. The U.S. yield curve steepened on Thursday. The gap between U.S. two-year and 10-year yields was 27.4 bps, up from 25.8 bps late on Wednesday.