In Asian Equity Markets stocks retreated from two-week highs on Thursday and China started on the backfoot on fears central banks were closer to considering winding back their emergency stimulus while the dollar held at a one-week top. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 percent at 691.76. Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.8 percent. Australian stocks were flat while New Zealand’s benchmark index fell 0.9 percent, extending losses for a second day in a row after the country’s central bank on Wednesday signalled rate rises from next year.

In Currency Markets the dollar found support on Thursday from a sense that the Federal Reserve is slowly but surely edging towards a discussion about tightening monetary policy, while the yuan hit a three-year high as China’s central bank kept to the sidelines. The dollar index was at a one-week top of 90.152. Dollar strength also clipped the wings of the kiwi and it bought $0.7286 after hints of a 2022 rate hike by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand had pushed it as high as $0.7316 on Wednesday. The Australian dollar decreased to $0.7732, while the euro fell to $1.2173.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed out Wednesday’s session with modest gains as recent comments from Federal Reserve officials helped tamp down concerns about runaway inflation and kept bond yields in check. The Dow rose 0.03 percent, to 34,323.05, the S&P 500 gained 0.19 percent, to 4,195.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.59 percent, to 13,738.00. Drug retailers such as Walgreens, CVS Health and Rite Aid Corp all lost ground after a report Amazon is considering the launch of physical pharmacies in the United States.

In Commodities Markets oil prices settled higher as a decrease in U.S. crude stockpiles reinforced expectations of improving demand ahead of the peak summer driving season, offsetting worries that a possible return of Iranian supply would cause a glut. Brent settled up 0.3 percent, to $68.87 a barrel and U.S. WTI crude settled up 0.2 percent, at $66.21 a barrel. Spot gold shed 0.17 percent to $1,896.06 per ounce after hitting its highest since Jan. 8 at $1,912.50. Palladium fell 0.2 percent to $2,739.71 per ounce, silver lost 0.4 percent to $27.59 and platinum decreased 0.7 percent to $1,183.59.

In European Equity Markets stocks ended flat on Wednesday, led by bank shares after central bank policymakers pledged to keep monetary policy loose despite recent signs of an uptick in inflation. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat, with bank falls offsetting travel and leisure gains. British retailer Marks & Spencer rose 8.5 percent to a one-year high after it said it had traded well in the early weeks of the 2021-22 and that earnings would recover after an 88 percent decline in full-year profit.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Wednesday in choppy trading, with those on the long end rising from three-week lows, amid a recovery in risk appetite with gains in stocks as well as profit-taking from recent spikes in bond prices. the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.577 percent from 1.564 percent late on Tuesday. U.S. 30-year yields, meanwhile, were up at 2.262 percent from Tuesday’s 2.26 percent. Post-auction, the U.S. 5-year yield climbed to 0.782 percent, from 0.774 percent on Tuesday.