In Asian Equity Markets trading was mixed on Thursday, after a lower finish in U.S. stocks following the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes. Australia’s ASX 200 opened higher but retraced gains to trade down 0.21 percent. The heavily weighted financial subindex traded down 0.16 percent, while the energy sector was down 1.19 percent and materials gained 0.21 percent. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.4 percent while the Topix index was lower by 1.18 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi slipped 0.56 percent. Chinese mainland markets returned to trade after being shut for the Lunar New Year holidays. The Shanghai composite rose 1.31 percent in early trade while the Shenzhen composite added 0.84 percent.

In Currency Markets the US dollar rose to a one-week high against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting showed policymakers were more confident of the need to keep raising interest rates. The dollar index edged up 0.1 percent to 90.099. Earlier, it climbed to 90.166, the highest level since Feb. 13. That lifted it about 2.2 percent from a three-year low near 88.25 plumbed last week. The dollar, however, lost ground against the yen, falling 0.4 percent to 107.36 yen. The Japanese currency gained broadly as speculation of a faster pace of U.S. rate hikes soured investors’ risk appetites and dented equities. The euro hit a low of 131.575 yen, its weakest level since Nov. 23, and was last down 0.5 percent at 131.79 yen.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Thursday, pulled down as a firmer dollar outweighed a report of a decrease in U.S. crude inventories. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $61.12 a barrel, down 56 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures had fallen 50 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close to $64.92 per barrel. The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported an unexpected drop in U.S. crude oil inventories by 907,000 barrels to 420.3 million barrels for the week to Feb. 16. Gold prices fell 0.5 percent on Thursday, weighed down by minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that showed policymakers backed further interest rate rises. The precious metal has fallen 1.7 percent so far this week.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower on Wednesday in a rocky session after the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting pushed yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note to a four-year high. Stocks initially reacted positively, with each of the major Wall St indexes touching session highs. The S&P 500 lost 0.55 percent, to 2,701.33 and the Nasdaq Composite fell  0.22 percent, to 7,218.23. Cheesecake Factory shares fell 3 percent in extended trading. The restaurant company and dessert distributor reported fourth quarter earnings and revenue in line with analyst expectations but missed on other important metrics. Same store sales, an important way to judge customer loyalty, fell by 0.9 percent year-over-year.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields jumped on Wednesday in choppy trading, after minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting affirmed expectations of further rate increases this year, with economic growth seen accelerating. U.S. benchmark 10-year note yields, which move inversely to prices, touched a more than four-year high, after the Fed minutes, while 30-year yields, hit their highest level since July 2015 after the Fed minutes. At close trading, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were at 2.957 percent, their highest since January 2014. They were last at 2.946 percent, up from Tuesday’s close at 2.893 percent. The U.S. 30-year bond yield touched 3.233 percent, the highest since July 2015. It was last at 3.227 percent from Tuesday’s 3.155 percent.