In Asian Equity Markets stocks wavered on Monday as a run of soft U.S. data suggested downside risks for this week’s June payrolls report, while the hubbub over possible recession was still driving a relief rally in government bonds. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were flat, while Japan’s Nikkei added 0.6 percent. Chinese blue chips were little changed as cities in eastern China tightened COVID-19 curbs on Sunday amid new coronavirus clusters. The Nikkei index edged up 0.58 percent to 26,085. The broader Topix gained 1.14 percent to 1863.67.

In Currency Markets the dollar kept trade-sensitive currencies pinned near multi-year lows on Monday and the euro was under pressure as investors sought safety due to worries about slowing global growth. The euro was flat at $1.0426 on Monday. The Australian and New Zealand dollars hit two-year lows on Friday and were not far from those levels during the Asia session, with the Aussie down 0.1 percent at $0.6809, after falling as low as $0.6764 on Friday. The kiwi held at $0.6203. Sterling hit a two-week low of $1.1976 on Friday and last bought $1.2090.

In US Equity Markets stocks bounced back to a sharply higher close in light trading on Friday as investors embarked on the second half of the year ahead of the long holiday weekend. The Dow rose 1.05 percent, to 31,097.26, the S&P 500 gained 1.06 percent, to 3,825.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.90 percent, to 11,127.85. All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the session green, with utilities enjoying the largest percentage gain. Department store chain Kohl’s Corp shares lost 19.6 percent following its decision to halt talks of a possible sale to Franchise Group.

In Commodities Markets oil prices gained more than 2 percent on Friday as supply outages in Libya and expected shutdowns in Norway outweighed expectations that an economic slowdown could dent demand. Brent crude futures settled at $111.63 a barrel, rising 2.4 percent. WTI crude settled at $108.43 a barrel, gaining 2.5 percent. Spot gold fell 0.7 percent to $1,794.10 per ounce. Spot silver fell 2.1 percent to $19.83 per ounce. Platinum fell 1.2 percent to $883.50, and faces a fourth consecutive weekly fall. Palladium lost 0.8 percent to $1,920.96, but has gained about 2.5 percent this week.

In European Equity Markets stocks closed flat on Friday as gains in defensives countered a sell-off in semiconductor and commodity-linked stocks, while investors prepared for the ECB’s first interest rate hike in over a decade this month. The continent-wide STOXX 600 index cut session losses of up to 1 percent. Europe’s technology index lost 2.0 percent. Miners lost 2.5 percent and oil and gas firms also slid as commodity prices fell on worries about economic growth. Utilities were the biggest sectoral gainers, up 3.1 percent as Uniper recovered after plunging more than 14 percent on Thursday.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Friday and the benchmark 10-year note fell the most since COVID-19 roiled markets in March 2020, as investors priced in the likelihood the Federal Reserve will force inflation down to near its target rate. The yield on 10-year notes tumbled 23.3 basis points from the open to the session’s lowest point, before paring the decline, to be down 7.4 basis points at 2.900 percent. The two-year yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, slid 8.4 basis points to 2.843 percent.