In Asian Equity Markets stocks tracked lower on Thursday, in step with Wall Street’s losses, as even the prospect of a less aggressive Federal Reserve has still set the U.S. central bank on a path for interest rates to stay higher for longer. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.22 percent, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. The index is up 1.3 percent so far this month. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.45 percent while China’s blue chip CSI300 was off 0.33 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar was on the front foot on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting pointed to U.S. interest rates staying higher for longer to bring down inflation. The Australian dollar fell 1.2 percent overnight and on Thursday hovered at $0.6930, just above Wednesday’s one-week low of $0.6912. The dollar rose 0.6 percent on the yen overnight and held at 134.90 yen on Thursday. The euro bought $1.0184. The U.S. dollar index was steady at 106.570. Sterling fell 0.4 percent to $1.2050.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with indexes volatile after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting in July suggested policymakers may be less aggressive than previously thought when they raise interest rates in September. The Dow fell 0.5 percent, to 33,980.32, the S&P 500 lost 0.72 percent, to 4,274.04 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25 percent, to 12,938.12. Target shares ended down 2.7 percent after the retailer reported a 90 percent fall in quarterly earnings and missed comparable sales estimates. The S&P 500 retail index fell 1.2 percent.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose about 1.5 percent after hitting a six-month low on Wednesday, as a steeper-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stocks outweighed concerns over rising Russian output and exports as well as recession fears. Brent crude settled 1.42 percent higher at $93.65 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.8 percent, to $88.11 per barrel. Spot gold fell 0.5 percent to $1,766.29 per ounce. Spot silver fell 1.3 percent to $19.86 per ounce, platinum was down nearly 1 percent to $925.89, while palladium fell 0.77 percent to $2,137.71.

In European Equity Markets stocks slid on Wednesday and bond yields rallied after a sharp rise in UK inflation brought the spotlight back to more monetary tightening amid data which showed euro zone economic growth was slightly less robust in the second quarter. The pan-European STOXX 600 shed 0.9 percent. Among stocks, Uniper fell 12.1 percent after the German utility reported a first-half net loss of 12.3 billion euros, mainly due to lower Russian gas supplies. Data showed British consumer price inflation rose to 10.1 percent in July, its highest since February 1982. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields climbed on Wednesday on lingering inflation concerns even as some investors saw minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting reaffirming a less aggressive stance in the central bank’s fight against rising prices. Benchmark 10-year yields fell about two basis points after the minutes were released while two-year note yields fell by about five basis points from 3.335 percent to 3.285 percent. Still, they closed higher, at 2.894 percent and 3.293 percent, respectively.