In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei ended flat in choppy trade on Monday with gains in cyclicals such as memory chip makers offset by weakness in in shares sensitive to domestic demand, notably railroad and construction companies. The Nikkei share average ended flat at 23,629.34 after flirting in positive territory in early trade. Silicon products maker Shin-Etsu Chemical jumped 4.6 percent after raising its net profit forecast and dividend payout outlook for the year ending March, while silicon wafer maker Sumco gained 2.0 percent. Chip-making equipment manufacturers also outperformed the overall market, with Tokyo Electron rising 1.3 percent and Advantest Corp advancing 1.8 percent. Insurers rallied with T&D Holdings up 1.7 percent and Dai-ichi Life Holdings gaining 0.8 percent. But railroad operators slipped, with East Japan Railway falling 1.2 percent and West Japan Railway declining 0.9 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar crawled up from lows on Monday but struggled to pull ahead from six straight weeks of losses on its evaporating yield advantage and doubts about Washington’s commitment to a strong currency. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies rose 0.2 percent to 89.215, extending its rebound from 88.429, a three-year nadir set on Thursday. The currency was marginally helped by U.S. GDP data on Friday, which showed strong domestic consumption and capital spending even though the headline figure was weaker than expected due to a rise in imports. Against the yen, the dollar was down 0.1 percent to trade at 108.72 yen, after hitting a low of 108.28 yen on Friday, its lowest level since mid-September. The euro traded at $1.2400, down 0.2 percent and off its three- year peak of $1.2538 touched on Thursday. The Australian dollar held firm at $0.8109 after hitting a 20-month peak of $0.8136 on Friday.

In Commodities Markets gold prices eased on Monday as the U.S. dollar gained some lost ground and continued gains in equities weighed on the bullion. However, the yellow metal hovered near a 17-month high hit last week as the greenback hit a three-year low after U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin backed a weaker currency. U.S. gold futures for February delivery slipped 0.4 percent to $1,346.50 per ounce. In other precious metals, silver remained unchanged at $17.39 per ounce. It rose about 2.3 percent last week, its biggest weekly gain for the year, so far. Platinum gained 0.1 percent to $1,010.80 per ounce, after dipping 0.3 percent last week in its first weekly decline in seven. Palladium declined 0.3 percent to $1,088.47 per ounce. The metal registered its second weekly loss last week, dropping about 1.2 percent. Oil prices settled higher on Friday after hitting three-year highs. Brent posted a nearly 2.7 percent weekly gain, while WTI reached a weekly gain of 4.3 percent.

In US Equity Markets indexes climbed on Friday as both the S&P 500 and Dow hit records on the latest round of strong earnings reports, including results from Intel and AbbVie, as well as continued weakness in the dollar. The advance put the three main indexes on pace for their best four-week run since 2016. The S&P 500 gained 0.75 percent, to 2,860.58 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.89 percent, to 7,477.15. Buoyed by AbbVie, the S&P healthcare index gained 1.62 percent, the best performer among the 11 major S&P sectors and on track for its best day since November 2016. Also lifting the index were gains in Pfizer, up 4.14 percent after a European regulator recommended granting marketing approval to a diabetes drug developed by the company and Merck, up 0.82 percent. Starbucks fell 4.99 percent after it warned 2018 global cafe sales growth would be at the low end of its forecast.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices slipped on Monday, in line with a retreat by U.S. Treasuries, although further losses were curbed after results of the Bank of Japan’s bond purchases showed limited selling interest. The benchmark 10-year yield rose 1 basis point to 0.080 percent and the 20-year yield edged up half a basis point to 0.580 percent. March 10-year JGB futures lost 0.10 point to 150.32. The BOJ on Monday bought 410 billion yen ($3.77 billion) of five- to 10-year JGBs as a part of its regular bond-buying operation. The operation results showed limited selling interest, suggesting few investors are in a hurry to sell JGBs at current levels. U.S. Treasury prices fell on Friday following data showing the world’s biggest economy grew 2.6 percent in the final quarter of 2017. Ten-year yields broke above the range of the last week or so to reach 2.69 percent on Monday, levels last visited in mid-2014.

Today’s inflection

• 14:30 GMT+1 USD PCE headline
• 14:30 GMT+1 USD PCE core
• 14:30 GMT+1 USD Personal spending