In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell further on Friday and were headed for deep weekly losses as rising interest rates across the globe threatened to destabilize economic growth and weighed on risk appetite. South Korea’s KOSPI index was among the worst performers for the day, down 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 1.1 percent. China’s bluechip Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index fell 0.9 percent, while the Shanghai Composite lost 1.1 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 2.2 percent in catch-up trade after a holiday on Thursday.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar edged higher in early European trading Friday, remaining in demand after the Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance, while the yen was buoyant after the intervention of Japanese authorities. The Dollar Index edged 0.1 percent higher to 111.248, just below the two-decade high of 111.81 hit in the previous session. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell 0.1 percent to 142.28. Euro fell 0.2 percent to $0.9813, not far removed from the 20-year low of $0.9807 hit overnight. Sterling fell 0.3 percent to $1.1223, just off a new 37-year low of $1.1213 hit overnight.

In US Equity Markets stocks ended lower on Thursday, falling for a third straight session as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve’s latest aggressive move to rein in inflation by selling growth stocks, including technology companies. The Dow fell 0.35 percent, to 30,076.68, the S&P 500 lost 0.84 percent, to 3,757.99 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.37 percent, to 11,066.81. Major U.S. airlines – which have enjoyed a rebound amid increased travel as pandemic restrictions end – were also down, with United Airlines and American Airlines falling 4.6 percent and 3.9 percent respectively.

In Commodities Markets oil rose on Thursday, paring earlier gains as the market focused on Russian oil supply concerns, rebounding Chinese demand, and as the BoE hiked interest rates less than some had expected. Brent crude futures settled up 0.7 percent, at $90.46 after rising by more than $2 earlier in the session. U.S. WTI crude settled up 0.7 percent, at $83.49, after rising by more than $3 earlier in the session. Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,671.20 per ounce. Spot silver was unchanged at $19.58 per ounce, platinum lost 0.8 percent to $900.68, while palladium added 0.6 percent to $2,166.82.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell 1.8 percent on Thursday, as recession worries heightened after the U.S. Fed delivered another jumbo-sized interest rate hike and signalled more in its fight against stubbornly high inflation. The pan-European STOXX 600 index hit its lowest since February 2021 led by rate-sensitive tech and real estate stocks which fell more than 4 percent each, with the latter hitting over two-year lows. London’s FTSE 100 index lost 1.1 percent after the BOE hiked rate by 50 bps and said it would continue to “respond forcefully, as necessary” to inflation, despite the economy entering recession.

In Bond Markets benchmark U.S. Treasury yields hit an 11-year high on Thursday and a key part of the yield curve was the most inverted in at least two decades as investors positioned for the Federal Reserve to continue its hawkish stance toward hiking rates as it battles persistently high inflation. Two-year yields reached 4.163 percent, the highest since October 2007. Five-year yields hit 3.942 percent, the highest since November 2007 and benchmark 10-year yields jumped to 3.716 percent, the highest since February 2011.