In Asian Equity Markets stocks got off to a cautious start on Monday as investors awaited key U.S. inflation readings for guidance on monetary policy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 percent in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.2 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.24 percent, as investors await the Bank of Korea handing down its interest rate decision for May on Thursday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.33 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.17 percent while the Shenzhen Component was down 0.41 percent.

In Currency Markets the dollar stood near its lowest level in three months against a resurgent euro, and traders pared earlier bets the Federal Reserve may move soon to taper its stimulus though markets were not fully convinced that higher U.S. inflation is transient. The euro traded at $1.2179, flat so far on Monday and off a three-month high of $1.2245 touched on Wednesday. The British pound stood at $1.4144, off Friday’s three-month peak of $1.4233. The yen was little moved at 108.92 per dollar. The dollar index was hovering at 90.045, a tad above a three-month low of 89.646 set on Friday.

In US Equity Markets main indexes closed mixed at the end of a volatile week of trading, with the Dow being the only bright spot, as inflation concerns loom over growth names. The Dow rose 0.37 percent, to 34,208.9, the S&P 500 lost 0.07 percent, to 4,156.08 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.48 percent, to 13,470.99. Ford Motor Co rose by 6.7 percent in its biggest one-day gain since December after it announced plans on Thursday to form a battery joint venture in the United States with South Korean battery maker SK Innovation to support its electric vehicle rollout.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose 2 percent after three days of losses, with investors watching a storm that is forming over the western Gulf of Mexico. Brent crude futures rose to settle at $66.44 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled at $63.58. Spot gold added 0.2 percent to $1,880.30 an ounce. Elsewhere, palladium fell 2.5 percent to $2,781.64 an ounce and headed for its biggest weekly decline since the week ending Jan. 29, while silver eased 1.1 percent at $27.44. Platinum shed 2.3 percent to $1,169.05, on track for its second straight weekly decline.

In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Friday, as Swiss luxury goods maker Richemont jumped after its results and accelerating business growth in the euro zone kept investors cautiously optimistic in the face of rising inflation worries. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.6 percent, capping the week with a small gain. Cartier-owner Richemont rose 5.0 percent to a record high as it proposed doubling its dividend back to pre-pandemic levels. Lufthansa AG fell 6.5 percent as the Thiele family, the second-largest shareholder in the German airline, sold more than half of its stake.

In Bond Markets treasury yields declined on Friday as the market shrugged off a report showing U.S. factory activity rose in early May to its highest level in more than a decade and Federal Reserve officials talked about when to discuss tapering bond purchases. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 0.9 basis point to 1.625 percent, well off a more than one-year high of 1.776 percent reached in late March. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell 1.2 basis points to 2.329 percent. The breakeven rate on five-year U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) edged up to 2.616 percent.