In Asian Equity Markets the Nikkei 225 in Japan retraced early gains to trade down 0.07% while the Topix index was flat. In South Korea, the Kospi index fell 0.1% but shares of major chipmaker SK Hynix jumped 2.63%. Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 bucked the downward trend and rose 0.54%, with most sectors advancing. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.45%. The Shanghai composite was down 0.49%, the Shenzhen composite fell 0.12% and the Shenzhen component index dropped 0.13%.

In Currency Markets the British pound fell on Friday versus the dollar and the euro after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s call for an election cast yet more uncertainty over Britain’s divorce from the European Union. The pound fell 0.14% to $1.2841 in Asia on Friday. For the week, sterling was on course for a 1.18% decline versus the greenback, its biggest weekly decline since Sept. 27. Sterling fell 0.1% to 86.49 pence per euro, on course for a 0.45% weekly decline.

In Commodities Markets oil prices stepped back on Friday after three straight days of gains, hurt by renewed concerns about fuel demand in light of gloomy economic growth forecasts. Brent crude was down 30 cents, or 0.5%, at $61.37. The global benchmark rose nearly 1% on Thursday and is heading for a weekly gain of more than 3%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 26 cents, or 0.5%, at $55.97. The U.S. benchmark rose 0.5% in the previous session and is on track for a weekly gain of 4.1%.

In US Equity Markets the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose slightly on Thursday following strong quarterly reports from several technology companies, including Microsoft Corp, but dour results from 3M Co stymied the Dow. Microsoft shares gained 2.0% as the tech giant’s outlook for cloud computing services surpassed analysts’ expectations, while shares of PayPal Holdings Inc  rose 8.6% on the payments company’s strong full-year earnings forecast. Microsoft and PayPal were the top boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Thursday after trading lower for much of the session, as investors consolidated positions ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting that is expected to result in an interest rate cut for a third time this year. U.S. 10-year note yields rose to 1.771% from 1.759% late on Wednesday. Yields on 30-year bonds were up at 2.267%, from 2.251% on Wednesday. On the short-end of the curve, U.S. two-year yields edged up to 1.587%, from Wednesday’s 1.582%.