I. Yesterday's News
1. U.S. economic growth was less sluggish than previously thought in the second quarter as exports grew more than imports and businesses raised their investments, hopeful signs for the economic outlook. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. That was up from the 1.1 percent rate it reported last month and higher than analysts' expectations. Other data released by the Commerce Department showed America's trade deficit for goods shrank in August, boding well for third-quarter growth. At the same time, consumer spending was robust in the second quarter, rising at a 4.3 percent annual rate, while growth in exports outstripped that of imports enough to boost GDP by the most since the third quarter of 2014.

2. The Federal Reserve might be able to help the U.S. economy in a future downturn if it could buy stocks and corporate bonds, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday. Yellen said the issue was not a pressing one right now and pointed out the U.S. central bank is currently barred by law from buying corporate assets. But the Fed's current toolkit might be insufficient in a downturn if it were to "reach the limits in terms of purchasing safe assets like longer-term government bonds."

3. Atlanta Federal Reserve Dennis Lockhart said on Thursday he is "comfortable" with the central bank raising interest rates in the near future if upcoming data support his view that the economy is growing at about 2 percent. He said he expected the Fed would raise interest rates "before long." December's U.S. Federal Reserve meeting would be an appropriate time to raise interest rates if the economy continues to move in the direction that it anticipates, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on Thursday. Harker said that he would have been very comfortable with a rate hike in September but that there was some disagreement among colleagues on how much slack remained in the labour market and when and by how much the Fed would exceed its 2 percent inflation target.

4. Deutsche Bank admitted on Thursday it had an image problem with investors as fresh concerns over the stability of Germany's largest lender pushed its U.S.-listed shares to a record low. The latest lurch came after Bloomberg reported that a number of hedge funds that clear derivatives trades with Deutsche had withdrawn some excess cash and adjusted positions held at the lender, a sign that counterparties are wary of doing business with it. Deutsche's U.S.-listed shares fell more than 9 percent in New York on Thursday after touching a record low in Europe this week. It closed down 6.67 percent for the day.

5. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Thursday the central bank will pursue the most appropriate yield curve to achieve its 2 percent inflation target. He also said the central bank is ready to ease policy further by cutting its short- and long-term interest rate targets, or expanding risky asset purchases. If necessary, the BOJ can also choose to expand the monetary base faster, Kuroda said.

6. Job vacancies in Australia rebounded in the three months to August to hit the highest since mid-2012, a promising sign for a pick up in labour demand. Total job vacancies rose to 177,300 seasonally adjusted in the June-August quarter, from 169,600 in the three months to May, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed. Vacancies were 9.8 percent higher than in the same period last year. Vacancies in the private sector climbed 4.6 percent to 160,100, again the highest number since 2012. That was up 8.2 percent on the August quarter last year. Public sector vacancies increased by 4.9 percent to 17,200, which was the highest since late 2011.

II. Market Overview
FX
The U.S. dollar hit a more than one-month low against the Swiss franc and trimmed gains against the yen on Thursday on concerns over Deutsche Bank, while increased expectations for a December Federal Reserve rate hike kept the greenback generally afloat. The dollar hit 0.9641 franc, its lowest level against the Swiss currency since Aug. 26. Against the yen, the dollar eased from a more than 1 percent gain and an eight-day high of 101.84 yen, and was last just 0.41 percent higher against the Japanese currency at 101.06. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.09 percent at 95.518.

Precious Metals
Gold was up a shade on Thursday after the dollar flip-flopped in the wake of mixed U.S. data and as scepticism grew over whether OPEC members would be able to implement production cuts that could fuel inflation. Spot gold was up at $1,320.05 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.2 percent at $1,326.

Commodities
Crude Oil
Oil jumped more than 1 percent on Thursday, with Brent nearing $50 a barrel on optimism over OPEC's first planned output cut in eight years, although gains were limited by doubts the reduction would make a substantial dent in the global crude glut. Brent crude settled up 55 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $49.24 a barrel. It hit a three-week high at $49.81. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 78 cents, or 1.7 percent, to settle at $47.83 after touching a one-month high at $48.32.

U.S. Treasuries
U.S. Treasury debt yields retreated on Thursday, as risk appetite faded amid fresh concerns about Deutsche Bank triggered by a news report saying a number of funds that clear derivative trades with the German lender have withdrawn excess cash and positions. In late trading, U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury notes were up 21/32 in price for a yield of 1.558 percent. U.S. 30-year bonds rose 7/32 in price, yielding 2.277 percent.

Stock Market
1. U.S. Equities
Wall Street dropped on Thursday, weighed down by Apple as well as selling in Wells Fargo, Citigroup and other major banks as investors worried about the health of Deutsche Bank. Apple fell 1.55 percent after Barclays cut its price target. The stock was the biggest drag on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 195.79 points or 1.07 percent to 18,143.45 points at the close, its sharpest decline since Sept 13. The S&P 500 lost 20.24 points or 0.93 percent to end at 2,151.13 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 49.39 points or 0.93 percent to 5,269.15.

2. Hong Kong Equities
Hong Kong stocks followed Asian markets higher on Thursday as major energy firms jumped after a surge in oil prices triggered by a surprise agreement among OPEC members to curb output. The Hang Seng index rose 0.5 percent to 23,739.47 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.8 percent to 9,794.33.