In Asian Equity Markets indices fell sharply on Thursday morning, with the stock indexes in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo all down more than 3 percent. In the Greater China region, the Hang Seng index was down by 3.51 percent in morning trade. Over on the mainland, the Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen composite both opened the day with declines exceeding 3 percent. Japan’s markets also continued to falter in the morning. The Nikkei 225 fell by 3.89 percent while the Topix index declined by 3.52 percent, with major sectors trending down.

In Currency Markets the US dollar was steady against a basket of currencies on Thursday after spooked investors drove U.S. stocks to their worst fall in nearly eight months overnight. The safe-haven yen strengthened to 112.25 against the dollar, its highest this month, taking heart from risk aversion in the wake of warnings from the IMF over global growth and financial stability. The euro rose 0.16 percent to 1.1536 on Thursday after hitting a low of 1.1477 in the previous session. Sterling traded at $1.3207, its highest in a week, as investors bet on a reasonably British departure from EU in March.

In Commodities Markets oil fell on Thursday to extend big losses from the previous session as global stock markets suffered a rout, with crude prices also taking a hit from a weekly industry report showing U.S. crude inventories had risen more than expected. Supply worries also eased as Hurricane Michael likely spared oil assets from significant damage as it smashed into Florida, even as it caused injuries and widespread destruction. Brent crude futures were down 66 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $82.43 a barrel. Brent closed 2.2 percent lower on Wednesday.

In US Equity Markets stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow marking their biggest daily declines since Feb. 8, and technology stocks were at the center of the carnage as rising U.S. Treasury yields sent investors fleeing from risky assets. The Nasdaq fell 4.08 percent registering its biggest daily decline since June 24, 2016, The S&P 500 ended the day down 3.3 percent, representing a 4.95 percent drop from its Sept. 20 record closing high. The Russell 2000 small-cap index closed down 2.9 percent.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields fell late on Wednesday in a flight to quality as investors snapped up government bonds in the midst of a sharp sell-off in U.S. stocks. Yields had been higher all day fueled by solid U.S. economic data that reinforced expectations of multiple interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve over the next 12 months. U.S. 10-year note yields were last at 3.170 percent, down from 3.208 percent late on Tuesday. U.S. 30-year bond yields also fell to 3.355 percent , versus Tuesday’s 3.369 percent.