In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 was down by 1.03 percent at the session close in Europe with all but three sectors in negative territory. Basic resources were down 1.56 percent, becoming the worst-performer. Media stocks were also under pressure, down by 1.36 percent. This as French media conglomerate Publicis fell 8.99 percent after it reported an expected decline in second-quarter sales. Iliad jumped 7.44 percent Thursday following the news that the French telecoms operator had reached 1 million subscribers in Italy.

In Currency Markets the US dollar rose to a one-year high on Thursday as investors strengthened bets on the currency’s long-term strength following upbeat comments on the U.S. economy by the Federal Reserve’s chairman. That put pressure on the euro which fell 0.4 percent to a two-week low of $1.1586. Sterling fell on weaker than expected retail sales data which cast doubt on the chances of a central bank interest rate hike next month. The pound fell to $1.2974, a fresh 10-month low.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday after Saudi Arabia’s OPEC governor said the kingdom’s crude exports will fall by about 100,000 barrels per day in August, overshadowing market pressure from a rising dollar and record high U.S. crude production. Brent crude oil rose 78 cents to $73.68 per barrel, reaching a session high of $73.79. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was $1.18 higher at $69.94. Saudi Arabia expects its crude exports to fell by roughly 100,000 bpd in August as the kingdom limits excess production,.

In US Equity Markets indexes were trading lower on Thursday, as a batch of weak quarterly reports dampened a robust earnings season and trade tensions rose on news the European Union may retaliate if United States slaps tariffs on EU cars. The Consumer Staples sector fell 0.9 percent, the most among the 11 main S&P sectors. EBay declined 9.6 percent, the most on the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after reporting underwhelming results and forecast. The S&P 500 was down 0.35 percent, at 2,805.86 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.29 percent, at 7,831.84.

In Bond Markets Italy’s short-dated government bond yields fell to their lowest level in over seven weeks on Thursday, with two analysts citing reported comments from the Italian prime minister in favour of remaining in the euro as a trigger for the move. Italy’s two-year bond yield fell almost 10 basis points to 0.523 percent, its lowest in more than seven weeks. The yield on Italy’s 10-year bond fell to within striking distance of Tuesday’s seven-week low of 2.467 percent before pulling back slightly.