In Asian Equity Markets Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.13 percent while the Topix index slipped 0.14 percent. Shares of Softbank, which were hit hard in the previous trading day, lost their earlier gains to trade lower by around 0.7 percent. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.41 percent, with shares of chip-maker SK Hynix rising 1.36 percent. The ASX 200 in Australia rose 0.51 percent in afternoon trade, with almost sectors in positive territory. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong saw fractional losses.

In Currency Markets the US dollar struggled to recover against its key rivals in Asian trade on Friday, hobbled by renewed speculation of an imminent pause in the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle, perhaps as soon as it delivers a widely expected rate hike later this month. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major peers, was basically flat at 96.804 in early trade. The index shed 0.3 percent during the previous session, closing at one-week low and down 0.9 percent from a 17-month peak hit on Nov. 12.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Friday, pulled down by OPEC’s decision to delay a final decision on output cuts, awaiting support from non-OPEC heavyweight Russia. International Brent crude oil futures fell below $60 per barrel early in the session, trading at $59.50 per barrel, down 56 cents, or 0.9 percent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.24 per barrel, down 25 cents, or 0.5 percent. The declines came after crude declined by almost 3 percent the previous day.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 and Dow industrials ended slightly negative but well above their session lows in volatile trading on Thursday as the arrest of a Chinese technology executive fanned fears of U.S-China tensions over trade, while some beaten-up big technology and internet shares posted gains. The S&P 500 0.15 percent, to 2,695.95 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.42 percent, to 7,188.26. Financial shares, which are sensitive to bond yield swings, fell 1.4 percent. The energy sector fell 1.8 percent and was the worst performing group,

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday, with 10-year yields hitting three-month lows, as traders scaled back expectations on the number of rate hikes the Federal Reserve would implement amid weakening economic data and market volatility. The yield on two-year Treasury notes fell 5 basis points to 2.758 percent after touching 2.693 percent, its lowest level since Sept. 10. The benchmark 10-year yield hit a three-month trough of 2.826 percent. It was last down nearly 4 basis points at 2.886 percent.