In Asian Equity Markets indices traded higher on Friday, tracking gains seen on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.69 percent in Tokyo and the broader Topix gained 0.49 percent. The materials sector was weaker, with the Topix mining sub-index down 2.86 percent, but those declines were offset by gains in the technology sector, among others. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.49 percent, aided by the move higher in the tech and auto sectors, with heavyweight Samsung Electronics up 0.58 percent. The Hang Seng Index was up 0.83 percent. All sectors traded higher in the morning, with technology shares and financials climbing.

In Currency Markets the US dollar hovered below a 4-1/2-month high against a basket of major currencies on Friday after tepid U.S. inflation data prompted traders to pare bets of faster rate hikes. U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in April, which would support gradual, rather than more aggressive, rate increases by the Federal Reserve. The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies stepped back to 92.71 from Wednesday’s 4-1/2-month high of 93.42. On the week, it was up 0.1 percent, the fourth straight week of gains if sustained by the end of the day. The dollar eased to 109.40 yen from Thursday’s high of 110.02 yen and off its three-month top of 110.05 yen touched on May 2.

In Commodities Markets oil prices on Friday dipped away from multi-year highs reached the previous session on hopes that alternative supplies could replace a looming drop in Iranian exports when U.S. sanctions against Tehran are re-imposed. The United States plans to re-introduce sanctions against Iran, which produces around 4 percent of global oil supplies, after abandoning an agreement reached in late 2015 that limited Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for removing U.S.-Europe sanctions. Brent crude futures were at $77.329 per barrel, down 19 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close. Brent the previous day hit its highest since November 2014 at $78 a barrel.

In US Equity Markets indices jumped on Thursday, and Apple inched closer to a $1 trillion stock market value, as tepid inflation data eased worries of faster U.S. interest rate hikes this year. Fueled by a $100 billion buyback plan unveiled last week, Apple rose 1.43 percent to a record high close, lifting the S&P 500 more than any other stock. The iPhone maker is about 7 percent away from becoming the first company ever to have a market capitalization of $1 trillion. The S&P 500 gained 0.94 percent to 2,723.07. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.89 percent to 7,404.98. CenturyLink gained 7.54 percent after its first-quarter report. That helped the telecoms sector jump 1.9 percent, more than any other sector.

In Bond Markets longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday, flattening the yield curve as a smaller-than-expected increase in the consumer price index in April reduced fears that domestic inflation is picking up steam as the labor market tightens. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to a session low of 2.948 percent after having broken through the psychologically significant level of 3 percent on Wednesday. The two-year yield, which is particularly sensitive to market sentiment about interest-rate hikes, was up from late Wednesday. Also pressuring the long end of the curve was the strong demand for $17 billion of new supply of 30-year bonds auctioned on Thursday afternoon. The bonds sold at a yield of 3.130 percent.