In Asian Equity Markets fell on Friday morning trade, following a second day of losses overnight on Wall Street as investors continued to grapple with recent comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In South Korea, the Kospi declined 0.11% in early trade, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics fell 0.33%. Australia’s ASX 200 slipped 0.18% as the sectors traded mixed. Markets in Japan and China are closed for holidays.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar looked set to end the week with a firmer tone on Friday as markets scaled back bets on a U.S. rate cut, though much depends on what jobs data due later in the session says about the health of the economy and wages. The currency has edged higher since Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell played down the recent slowing in inflation and saw no reason to cut interest rates. Against the yen, the dollar was idling at 111.46 having spent the entire week in a snug 111.03-111.89 range.

In Commodities Markets oil fell Thursday, with U.S. crude declining almost 3 percent as the market grappled with oversupply fears as increased U.S. sanctions on Iran had more gradual impact than expected and U.S. crude oil inventories rose sharply. U.S. crude settled down $1.79 or 2.8 percent at $61.81 a barrel, heading for its biggest weekly fall since February. Brent crude futures fell $1.43 a barrel, or 2 percent to $70.75. Market sentiment became more bearish as shifting U.S. policy on Iran had less immediate impact than initially feared, analysts said.

In US Equity Markets stocks eased further from recent record highs on Thursday as energy shares dropped along with oil prices and investors continued to digest comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The S&P 500 lost0.21%, to 2,917.52, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16%, to 8,036.77. Among decliners, Dow Inc, the commodity chemicals division spun off from DowDuPont Inc, fell 6.1% after reporting a fall in core earnings. Kellogg Co fell about 3.4% after the cereal and snacks maker said it would replace its chief financial officer and reported a decline in first-quarter earnings.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose to one-week highs on Thursday as investors reduced bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this year, after bullish economic comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Powell said the drop in inflation this year may be due to transitory factors and that economic and job growth has been stronger than the committee expected. His comments came after the Fed meeting statement took a more cautious tone on subdued inflation.