In Asian Equity Markets stocks were mixed in morning trade on Friday, as U.S. markets broke a new record, with positive news on the trade front further boosting sentiment. Mainland Chinese stocks rose in early trade. The Shanghai composite was up 0.18%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also jumped, rising 0.38%. apan’s Nikkei 225, however dipped 0.21%, and its Topix index edged down 0.28%. But Japanese autos were under pressure in response to the trade deal. Toyota fell1.28%, Nissan and Mazada lost about 1%. In South Korea, the Kospi went into positive territory, rising 0.28%..Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21% in the morning.

In Currency Markets sterling headed for its worst week in more than two years on Friday, hobbled by familiar fears of a chaotic British exit from the European Union, while firm data helped the dollar arrest its recent slide. Overnight the pound fell below $1.30 for the first time in a fortnight. It sat at $1.3008 early in Asian trading hours as worries grow about whether a deal can be sorted out before the December 2020 hard deadline. Cable has given up all the gains won after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was re-elected last week and has fallen 2.4% against the dollar since Monday.

In Commodities Markets oil prices held steady near three-month highs on Friday, heading for a third consecutive weekly rise, on the back of easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions that have weighed on demand as well as the global economic growth outlook. Brent futures were up 5 cents, or 0.08%, to 66.59 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 8 cents, or 0.13%, at $61.10 per barrel. Progress in a long-running trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two biggest oil consumers, has boosted expectations for higher energy demand next year.

In US Equity Markets major indexes resumed their rally with fresh records on Thursday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said an initial U.S.-China trade deal would be signed in early January. The S&P 500 gained 0.44%, to 3,205.27 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.67%, to 8,887.22. Conagra Brands jumped 16.3%, on track for its best day ever, after the Slim Jim maker beat quarterly sales and profit estimates. Conagra’s results also lifted other packaged food makers and helped boost the consumer staples sector 0.6%. Micron Technology Inc gained 3.9% after signaling a recovery in its business in 2020.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday as traders weighed mixed economic signals on recent domestic labor market and business conditions. The benchmark 10-year yield was down 1.9 basis points at 1.9047% in afternoon trading, after rising as high as 1.9520%. Yields fell back after the U.S. Labor Department said the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped from more than a two-year high last week.