In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session in the red. Most sectors and major bourses were in negative territory. Oil and gas stocks bucked the trend, gaining 0.6% as oil prices rose. Shares of the Stockholm-listed stock gained more than 5% during Friday’s session. France’s Natixis shook off earlier gains to sink toward the bottom of the index. Shares of the bank saw gains earlier in the session, but were trading more than 2% lower during afternoon deals after fund ratings firm Morningstar put the lender’s H20 fund management arm under review on Thursday.

In Currency Markets sterling on Friday slipped to a whisker off recent five-month lows against the euro after Brexiteer Boris Johnson moved closer to becoming British prime minister, worrying investors that his government would make a no-deal Brexit more likely. Sterling was trading flat at $1.2697. That still left the British currency up 0.7% this week, with most of the gains down to a selloff in the dollar after the Fed opened the door to looser monetary policy. But the pound has not fared as well against the euro, and was down 0.3% at 89.18 pence.

In Commodities Markets oil futures rallied on Friday with U.S. crude up 10% in the week and global benchmark Brent gaining 5% on fears of a U.S. military attack on Iran that would disrupt flows from the Middle East, which provides more than a fifth of the world’s oil output. Brent crude was up 90 cents at $65.35 a barrel, on course for its first weekly gain in five weeks of 5.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 67 cents at$57.74 a barrel, on track for a nearly 10% increase this week.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Friday as rising tensions between the United States and Iran slammed the brakes on this week’s run that lifted the S&P 500 to a record high. The S&P 500 was down 0.23 percent, at 2,947.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.47 percent, at 8,013.66. The Philadelphia chip index fell 0.52%, while the broader technology sector declined 0.35%. Carnival Corp fell for the second day, down 3%, and among the biggest decliners. Several brokerages trimmed their price targets after the cruise operator cut its 2019 profit forecast.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury prices fell on Friday, as investors cashed in on sharp gains the last two days that saw yields drop to multi-year lows in the wake of a Federal Reserve statement that flagged interest rate cuts this year. U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury yields dropped on Thursday below 2% for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years, while 30-year yields plummeted to their lowest since October 2016. Yields on U.S. 2-year notes slid as well to their weakest level since mid-November 2017.