In Asian Equity Markets shares gave up early gains on Thursday despite strong quarterly earnings in the U.S..  Japan’s Nikkei 225 erased gains of near 0.3 percent to trade lower by 0.25 percent while the Topix index rose 0.22 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi also gave up early advances while Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 traded flat. Markets in the Greater China region were mostly down: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell about 0.1 percent. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai composite index fell 0.25 percent

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar took a breather on Thursday following its recent strong gains against key rivals, while sterling steadied after British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government won a no-confidence vote in parliament. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was a shade higher at 96.133 after gaining about 1 percent over the previous five sessions. Sterling was last trading at 88.42 pence per euro, hovering close to a seven-week high of 88.37 pence touched during the previous session.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Thursday as U.S. crude production quickly approached an unprecedented 12 million barrels per day (bpd) just as worries about weakening demand emerge. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $52 per barrel, down 31 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were down 34 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $60.98 per barrel. American crude oil production reached a record 11.9 million bpd in the week ending Jan. 11, up from 11.7 million bpd last week, which was already the highest national output in the world.

In US Equity Markets indexes hit one-month highs on Wednesday as strong earnings from Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc boosted investor sentiment. The two banks’ results drove a 2.2 percent gain in the S&P 500 financial. The S&P 500 gained 0.22 percent, to 2,616.1 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.15 percent, to 7,034.69. United Continental Holdings Inc shares rose 6.4 percent after the airline posted a quarterly profit that beat expectations. Nordstrom Inc shares fell 4.8 percent after the department store forecast full-year profit at the lower end of its prior estimates.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as stronger-than-forecast results from two major U.S. banks lifted Wall Street to one-month highs and British Prime Minister Theresa May’s win of a confidence vote, reducing safety bids for U.S. government debt. The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was up 1.7 basis points at 2.725 percent. It has risen from a near one-year low of 2.543 percent reached a week and a half earlier. Two-year U.S. Treasury yields, which are sensitive to views on Fed policies, were 1.8 basis points higher at 2.547 percent.