In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was nearly 1% lower, with every sector and all major bourses in negative territory. Shares of Credit Suisse were trading around 0.7% lower despite the bank beating market expectations with its latest earnings on Thursday, posting a 69% increase in annual net income despite the spying scandal that emerged during 2019. Dutch insurer NN Group’s shares were up 5.4% after the company reported its full-year operating result for 2019 increased 10% year-on-year.

In Currency Markets the euro fell to more than two-year lows against the dollar on Thursday as concerns about a sharp rise in the number of new cases of the coronavirus outbreak in China led investors to seek out U.S. assets. The euro fell to $1.0848, the lowest since May 2017. It breached technical support at the October low of $1.0877 on Wednesday. That leaves the currency vulnerable to further losses, analysts said. The Japanese yen gained against the dollar on Thursday to 109.79 yen.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged higher on Thursday as investors focused on the possibility of deeper supply cuts from the world’s biggest producers, whilst largely shrugging off reports which cut demand forecasts after the coronavirus outbreak in China, the biggest oil importer. Brent crude was up 32 cents, or 0.6%, at $56.11 a barrel, while U.S. WTI was up 14 cents at $51.31 a barrel. The energy complex was led higher by U.S. gasoline futures, which jumped more than 1%.

In US Equity Markets main indexes eased from record highs on Thursday, pressured by shares of Cisco after its disappointing quarterly forecast, while a spike in new coronavirus cases in China weighed on the sentiment. The S&P 500 was down 0.21%, at 3,372.44. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.30%, at 9,697.15. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower. Among other stocks, Kraft Heinz Co fell 7.6% as it missed quarterly sales estimates and wrote down the value of some businesses.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower on Thursday as traders balanced worsening news about the coronavirus epidemic in China with positive U.S. economic reports. The benchmark 10-year yield was down less than a basis point in morning trading at 1.619%. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down a basis point at 1.4317% in morning trading.