In Asian Equity Markets stocks fell on Thursday as investors worried about the impact of rate rises ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.65 percent in afternoon trade, with Australian shares down 1.22 percent and Seoul’s KOSPI 0.49 percent lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng turned around from small gains to fall 0.75 percent and Chinese A-shares fell 1 percent as parts of Shanghai began imposing new COVID-19 restrictions. In Japan, the Nikkei stock index added 0.04 percent.

In Currency Markets the yen fell to a new 20-year low versus the dollar on Thursday, and the euro inched higher ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting of the European Central Bank, which should offer insights into its monetary policy tightening plans. The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.072 on Thursday, having moved very little this week. Elsewhere the yen extended its slide, falling to a fresh 20-year low of 134.56 yen per dollar in early trade, before recovering to 133.79. Sterling was steady at $1.2528, and the risk-friendly Australian dollar was a touch softer at $0.7178, in line with lower share markets.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday as Treasury yields rose above the psychologically important 3 percent level and oil prices jumped, fanning worries about inflation and the outlook for interest rates. The Dow fell 0.81 percent, to 32,910.9; the S&P 500 lost 1.08 percent, to 4,115.77; and the Nasdaq Composite 0.73 percent, to 12,086.27. Among its biggest drags, shares of Intel Corp slid 5.3 percent after Citi cut its estimates on the chipmaker for the second time in a week. Investors are also cautious ahead of U.S. consumer price data on Friday morning.

In Commodities Markets oil prices jumped over 2 percent to a 13-week high on Wednesday as U.S. demand for gasoline keeps rising despite record pump prices, while expectations that China’s oil demand will increase faced growing supply concerns in several countries, including Iran. Brent futures rose 2.5 percent, to settle at $123.58 a barrel, while U.S. WTI crude rose 2.3 percent, to end at $122.11. Spot gold fell 0.1 percent to $1,850.50 per ounce. Elsewhere, silver fell 0.9 percent to $22.00 per ounce, platinum fell 0.5 percent to $1,005.89 and palladium shed 0.9 percent to $1,965.31.

In European Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday with concerns around economic growth slowdown and a gloomy forecast by Credit Suisse weighing on banks, while investors braced for the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s next week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.6 percent. Credit Suisse fell over 7 percent in early trading before sharply reversing losses to end up 3.8 percent, with traders citing an Inside Paradeplatz report saying that U.S-based State Street is planning a takeover bid for the troubled Swiss lender.

In Bond Markets treasury yields rose on Wednesday after the U.S. Treasury Department saw tepid demand for a sale of 10-year notes, and as investors waited on highly anticipated inflation data on Friday. Benchmark 10-year yields gained 6 basis points to 3.029 percent. Two-year yields rose 4 basis points to 2.774 percent. The government sold $33 billion in 10-year notes at a high yield of 3.030 percent, around a basis point above where they had traded before the auction. The notes saw 2.41 times the amount of bids to debt on offer, the lowest since November.