In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei share average rose on Thursday, rebounding from a six-day losing streak and pushing most sectors into positive territory, as a weaker yen and corporate earnings helped drive the benchmark index higher. The Nikkei gained 1.4 percent to 23,410.33, after declining for sixth straight sessions. Fujifilm Holdings jumped more than 13 percent after the company said it will take over Xerox Corp in $6.1 billion deal, combining the U.S. company into their existing joint venture to gain scale and cut costs amid declining demand for office printing. Nintendo Co rose as much as 3.8 percent to a one-week high after it reported its biggest third-quarter operating profit in eight years, driven by strong demand for its new Switch games console. On the other hand, Fujitsu Ltd fell more than 12 percent after its operating profit fell 29.3 percent for the April-December period, hit by factors such as non-performing businesses.

In Currency Markets the US dollar held steady against a basket of major currencies on Thursday after the Federal Reserve signaled its confidence about inflation and growth in the world’s biggest economy, reinforcing views it will raise rates several more times this year. The Fed kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but said inflation is likely to quicken this year, bolstering expectations borrowing costs will continue to climb under incoming central bank chief Jerome Powell. The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was steady at 89.127 having crawled back from a three-year trough of 88.438 set last week. The index fell 3.2 percent in January. The dollar edged up 0.2 percent to 109.36 yen, edging away from a four-month low of 108.280 plumbed on Friday. The Canadian dollar held steady at C$1.2312 per U.S. dollar, having set a four-month high of C$1.2250 on Wednesday.

In Commodities Markets U.S. oil prices extended modest gains on Thursday as OPEC’s strong compliance with a supply reduction pact offset news that U.S. production topped 10 million barrels per day for the first time in nearly half a century. NYMEX crude for March delivery rose 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $64.87 a barrel, after ending the last session up 0.4 percent. London Brent crude for April delivery was up 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $69.04, after settling up 3 cents in the previous session. U.S. crude oil production in November surpassed 10 million barrels per day for the first time since 1970, and neared the all-time output record, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also rose in January from an eight-month low as higher output from Nigeria and Saudi Arabia offset a further decline in Venezuela and strong compliance with a supply reduction pact, a Reuters survey found.

In US Equity Markets stocks finished marginally higher on Wednesday as indexes gave up early gains after the Federal Reserve said it sees inflation rising this year, signaling it remains on track to boost interest rates again in March. The S&P 500 gained 0.05 percent, to 2,823.9 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.12 percent, to 7,411.48. Among the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors, technology gave the biggest boost to the index. Healthcare stocks continued to weigh on the three major U.S. indexes following a report on Tuesday that Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase were joining forces to cut healthcare costs for its U.S. employees. The S&P 500 healthcare index fell 1.5 percent. Facebook shares fell more than 4 percent in after-market trading after the social media giant reported results. Stocks were lifted earlier Wednesday by a jump in Boeing which forecast better-than-expected full-year profits and said it expects to deliver a record number of commercial aircraft in 2018, sending its shares up 4.9 percent.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bond prices slipped on Thursday, weighed by a strong bounce in Tokyo stocks, although losses were limited by a 10-year debt auction that attracted ample demand. The five-year yield rose 1 basis point to minus 0.075 percent and the 10-year yield climbed 1 basis point to 0.090 percent. A rise above 0.095 percent would take the yield to its highest level since July 2017. Thursday’s 2.3 trillion yen ($21 billion) 10-year JGB auction still attracted ample demand with the Bank of Japan seen committed to easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future. The bid-to-cover ratio, a gauge of demand at auctions, rose to 4.58 at Thursday’s 10-year auction from 3.74 at the previous sale in January. The spread between longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields and short-dated ones contracted to the slimmest in over a decade on Wednesday as the government favored selling more short-dated debt than longer-dated issues to finance the projected rise in its budget deficit.

Today’s inflection points

• 10:00 GMT+1 EUR PMI manufacturing, final
• 10:30 GMT+1 GBP PMI manufacturing
• 15:30 GMT+1 CAD RBC manufacturing PMI
• 15:45 GMT+1 USD Markit PMI manufacturing, final
• 16:00 GMT+1 USD Construction spending
• 16:00 GMT+1 USD ISM manufacturing