In Asian Equity Markets stocks skidded to seven-month lows on Monday as regulation concerns upended Chinese equities and strong U.S. corporate earnings sucked funds out of emerging markets into Wall Street. Chinese blue chips shed 2.4 percent to their lowest in 10 weeks as the education and property sectors were routed on worries over tighter government rules. That dragged MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 1.4 percent to its lowest since early January. Japan’s Nikkei did bounce 1.4 percent, but that was off a seven-month low.

In Currency Markets the dollar was down on Monday morning in Asia but remained near its strongest level since early April 2021 against the euro. Investors also await the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision, due to be handed down on Wednesday. The U.S. Dollar Index inched down 0.07 percent to 92.862. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar edged down 0.18 percent to 110.34. The Aussie edged down 0.20 percent to $0.7349, with the Australian dollar dropping to an almost eight-month low of $0.72895 during the previous week as Sydney and Melbourne remain under COVID-19 lockdown.

In US Equity Markets stocks gained ground for the fourth straight session on Friday, extending a rally that pushed all three major U.S. stock indexes to record closing highs as upbeat earnings and signs of economic revival fueled investor risk appetite. The Dow rose 0.68 percent, to close the week at 35,061.55, while the S&P 500 gained 1.01 percent, to 4,411.79. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.04 percent, to close at 14,836.99. Social media firms Twitter Inc and Snap Inc gained 3.8 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively, after their upbeat results.

In Commodities Markets oil prices edged higher on Friday and for the week after a strong recovery from Monday’s steep slide, underpinned by expectations that supply will remain tight through the year. Brent crude ended the session up 0.4 percent, at $74.10 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 0.2 percent, at $72.07. Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,800.72 per ounce. Silver fell 1.2 percent to $25.16 per ounce, and was set for a third consecutive weekly fall. Platinum fell 3 percent to $1,059.76 per ounce, and palladium shed 1.7 percent to $2,672.76 per ounce.

In European Equity Markets stocks closed at all-time highs on Friday as optimism about the earnings season and the European Central Bank’s pledge of continued monetary support outweighed risks of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rallied 1.1 percent to hit a record high of 461.75. Automakers were the top gainers, up 2.5 percent. French car parts maker Valeo rose 6 percent after it posted higher first-half sales and profit, and said it expected the shortage of key technology chips to ease. Peers Faurecia and Continental AG rose more than 3 percent each.

In Bond Markets treasury yields rose on Friday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting next week, which will provide clues on the strength of the U.S. recovery and when the central bank might start to curb its economic support. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes traded up 2.1 basis points at 1.288 percent after briefly rising above 1.3 percent. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond rose 2.2 basis points to 1.925 percent. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was unchanged at 0.202 percent.