In Asian Equity Markets traded mixed on Friday morning. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.49 percent, with shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent jumping more than 1 percent despite the company reporting its slowest annual profit growth in 13 years. Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed its earlier gains to trade fractionally lower in the morning, as shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing fell more than 0.8 percent. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.14 percent. Meanwhile, shares in Australia gained as the ASX 200 advanced 0.88 percent, with almost all the sectors in positive territory.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar largely held onto the previous session’s gains in early Asian trade on Friday, while sterling edged up on news that Britain could leave the European Union without a Brexit deal at a slightly later date. Against a basket of key rival currencies, the dollar was about 0.1 percent lower at 96.394. The index had recovered three-quarters of a percent overnight after falling to a more than six-week low on Wednesday on news the Federal Reserve had abandoned plans to raise rates this year.

In Commodities Markets oil prices on Friday hovered close to 2019 peaks reached the previous day, propped up by supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and by U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. Brent crude oil futures were at $67.82 per barrel, down 4 cents from their last close but within a dollar of the $68.69 per barrel 2019-high marked the day before. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $60 per barrel, virtually unchanged from their last settlement and not far off their 2019 peak of $60.39 touched on Thursday.

In US Equity Markets an Apple-led tech rally pushed Wall Street higher on Thursday as jitters over the Federal Reserve’s forecast of an economic slowdown were calmed by upbeat economic data. The S&P 500 gained 1.09 percent, to 2,854.88 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.42 percent, to 7,838.96. Strauss & Co jumped 31.8 percent as investors welcomed the iconic jeans maker back to the stock market. The 165-year-old company’s IPO was priced at $17 per share, and the shares closed at $22.41.

In Bond Markets the spread between the three-month Treasury bill yield and the 10-year note yield shrank to its narrowest level since August 2007 on Thursday in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s decision to cease tightening monetary policy as the American economy shows signs of contraction. The benchmark 10-year yield, which reflects investor views on the overall health of the economy, fell to a 14-month low on Wednesday but was last up 0.3 basis point to 2.541 percent. The two-year yield was last up 1.2 basis points at 2.413 percent.