In Asian Equity Markets indices jumped on Thursday morning as investors in the region digested recent developments surrounding the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Stocks in Japan led gains among major regional markets, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.83% and the Topix index gaining 1.73%. South Korea’s Kospi also added 1.71% as shares of Hyundai Motor jumped more than 4%. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.2%. In mainland China, the Shanghai composite rose 0.2%.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar stood tall on Thursday, supported by firm domestic data and hopes the coronavirus’ economic impact could be limited, even as the human toll continued to climb. That helped the greenback higher and it drifted north in morning trade to a two-week high of 109.87 Japanese yen. It sat at $1.0994 per euro, just below a one-week peak touched overnight against the common currency, while the Australian dollar inched ahead by 0.1%.

In Commodities Markets oil futures rose for a second day on Thursday as investors took optimism around unconfirmed reports of possible medical advances to combat the coronavirus outbreak in China as a sign fuel demand could rebound in the world’s biggest oil importer. Brent futures rose by 62 cents, or 1.1%, to $55.90 a barrel, having risen 2.4% in the last session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 73 cents, or 1.4%, to $51.48 a barrel after rising 2.3% on Wednesday.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 posted a record closing high on Wednesday as U.S. stocks rallied for a third straight day on encouraging U.S. economic data and waning fears of the financial fallout from the corona virus in China. The S&P 500 gained 1.13%, to 3,334.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.43%, to 9,508.68. Shares of Tesla cooled off after a huge six-day rally, dropping 17.2% after a senior executive warned that the coronavirus outbreak in China would delay deliveries of Model 3 cars made at its Shanghai plant.

In Bond Markets U.S Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as traders reacted to positive reports on efforts to counter the coronavirus and a strong private-sector jobs report. The benchmark 10-year yield was up 4.5 basis points in afternoon trading at 1.6456%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was up 2.6 basis points at 1.4411% in afternoon trading.