In Asian Equity Markets indices were mixed in Friday morning trade. Mainland Chinese stocks fell in early trade, with the Shanghai composite shedding about 0.1% and the Shenzhen component declining 0.34%. The Shenzhen composite also fell 0.40%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.72% as shares of life insurer AIA jumped more than 1.5%. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.74% while the Topix index added 0.85%. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.86%. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.76% as almost all the sectors traded higher. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.68% higher.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar found broad support on Friday as fresh signs of a global economic slowdown and little visible progress toward a Sino-U.S. trade truce put investors in a risk-averse mood. The dollar clawed back some of the ground it gave to the safe-haven yen overnight, rising 0.1% to buy 108.55 yen, and kept hold of overnight gains against the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The British pound, meanwhile, sat near peaks scaled overnight. It stood at $1.2881 and at 0.8555 pence per euro in Asian trade. China’s yuan was steady at 7.0167 per dollar in offshore trade.

In Commodities Markets oil prices posted early gains as OPEC’s outlook for oil demand next year fueled hopes that the producer group and its associates will keep a lid on supply when they meet to discuss policy on output next month. Optimism that the United States and China could soon sign an agreement to end their trade war also seeped into the market after White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a deal was “getting close”, citing what he called very constructive discussions with Beijing. Brent crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $62.58 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 29 cents, or 0.5%, at $57.06 a barrel, after falling 0.6% in the previous session.

In US Equity Markets main indices fell  slightly from near record levels on Thursday, as a dour forecast from tech stalwart Cisco Systems raised fresh questions about the global economy’s health and overshadowed a strong report from big box retailer Walmart. Cisco shares tumbled 7.8% after the network gear maker forecast second-quarter revenue and profit below expectations as increasing global economic uncertainties kept clients away from spending more on its routers and switches. On Thursday, real estate was the top-performing S&P 500 sector, rising 0.5%, while energy and consumer staples lagged along with tech.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday as investors reassessed the likelihood that the United States and China are close to reaching a deal to de-escalate their trade war and as bonds retraced last week’s selloff, which was exaggerated by technical factors. On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the two countries were close to a deal but that if one is not made, Washington will raise tariffs on Chinese imports. Benchmark 10-year note yields rose to 1.973% last Thursday, which was the highest since Aug. 1, and have climbed from 1.670% on Nov. 1.