I. Yesterday's News
1. New orders for U.S. manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in September amid weak demand for computers and electronic products, which could temper expectations for an acceleration in business spending in the fourth quarter. Despite the prolonged energy-driven weakness in manufacturing, the rest of the economy is in better shape. Other reports on Thursday showed a drop in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week and a jump in contracts to purchase previously owned homes in September. The dollar was little changed by the data, while U.S. stocks were trading marginally lower. Prices for longer-dated U.S. Treasuries fell.

2. The effectiveness of the European Central Bank's ultra-loose monetary policy may decline over time and some trends in bank lending already need closer scrutiny, ECB board member Yves Mersch said on Thursday. Mersch, considered a moderate hawk on the Governing Council, argued that the side effects of the bank's negative interest rate rises with time, and that cost needs to be assessed when the ECB reviews how long its bond-buying programme, known as quantitative easing, will last.

3. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Opec allies are willing to cut 4 per cent from their peak oil output, energy ministers from the Gulf countries told their Russian counterpart this week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The offer was made at a closed-door meeting in Riyadh, where the ministers met on Sunday. But Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the officials that Moscow would not cut output, but rather freeze it at current levels, the sources said. There is a general understanding that only Libya, Nigeria and Iran should be exempt as their output had been hit by wars and sanctions, three Opec sources said.

4. Britain escaped a severe economic slowdown in the three months after the Brexit referendum shock, further diminishing the chance of a fresh interest rate cut by the Bank of England next week. Official data showed the economy grew by 0.5 percent between July and September, but comfortably above a median forecast of 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll of economists. Chancellor Philip Hammond said the results showed the British economy's "resilience" to the challenges the UK faces while it negotiates its exit from the EU.

5. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the central bank would not try to push down super-long government bond yields - even if they rise further - because it is focused on controlling the yield curve for out to 10 years. Kuroda told parliament he saw no immediate need to change the minus 0.1 percent short-term interest rate target and the 10-year government bond yield target of around zero percent, suggesting that the BOJ will hold off on easing policy at next week's rate review.

II. Market Overview
FX
The U.S. dollar hit its highest in more than seven and a half years against the Swedish crown after dovish comments from Sweden's central bank. The dollar was last up 1.81 percent against the Swedish crown at 9.0689 crowns after gaining 2 percent earlier and touching 9.0890 crowns, its highest level since early March 2009. The dollar hit a three-month high against the yen of 105.34 yen , and was last up 0.75 percent against the Japanese currency at 105.24 yen. The euro was down 0.06 percent against the dollar at $1.0900. The euro has fallen about 3 percent this month against the greenback, putting it on track for its worst month in nearly a year. The dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.25 percent at 98.875.

Precious Metals
Gold was little changed on Thursday, pressured by a persistently strong dollar as the market awaits more signs about the timing of an expected U.S. interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,267.80 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures ended the session up 0.2 percent at $1,269.50 per ounce. Spot gold has traded in a $16 range over the last week.

Commodities
1.Crude Oil
Oil settled higher on Thursday, as commitments from Gulf OPEC members to cut production assuaged some lingering doubts in the market about cooperation from other producers. The international benchmark Brent crude was up 49 cents, or 1 percent, at $50.47 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 54 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $49.72.

2. Base Metals
Copper hit a two-week high on Thursday as the market focused on the likelihood of stronger demand in China, but gains were limited by reduced speculative activity after a spike earlier this week. Also a plus for copper are stocks in LME-approved warehouses, which at 331,450 have fallen more than 12 percent since late September. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange ended up 1.1 percent at $4,790 a tonne from an earlier $4,797, its lowest since October 13. Prices are up more than 3 percent so far this week. Zinc ended up one percent at $2,363. Aluminium rose 1.2 percent at $1,699.

U.S. Treasuries
U.S. Treasury debt yields climbed to roughly five-month peaks on Thursday, spurred by gains in German and British bonds as investors speculated that the Bank of England and the European Central Bank would both hold off on further easing measures. The spread between short- and long-term U.S. Treasury yields curve has increased as a result to 126 basis points , the highest in a week. In late trading, benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were down 16/32 in price to yield 1.846 percent, up from 1.79 percent late on Wednesday. Earlier, 10-year yields hit a five-month high of 1.87 percent. U.S. 30-year bonds were down more than a point in price to yield 2.605 percent, up from Wednesday's 2.537 percent. Thirty-year yields earlier hit a five-month peak of 2.631 percent. U.S. two-year note yields were at 0.884 percent, up from Wednesday's 0.872 percent. Earlier on Thursday, two-year yields touched five-month highs of 0.896 percent.

Stock Market
1. U.S. Equities
U.S. stocks dipped in a choppy session after the latest round of earnings reports, as a decline in the consumer discretionary sector and interest-rate sensitive stocks outweighed gains in healthcare names. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.65 points, or 0.16 percent, to 18,169.68, the S&P 500 lost 6.39 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,133.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 34.29 points, or 0.65 percent, to 5,215.97.

2. Hong Kong Equities
Hong Kong shares fell on Thursday as investors were spooked by an unexpectedly sharp drop in China's industrial profits. The Hang Seng index fell 0.8 percent, to 23,132.35, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.9 percent, to 9,608.91 points.