Global markets were steadier on Thursday after a volatile prior session, with investors digesting easing geopolitical tensions, shifting equity leadership in the United States, and a series of policy and regulatory developments spanning currencies, crypto, and technology.
Commodity prices pulled back from recent highs, while Asian equities were mixed.
Meanwhile, Washington signaled further uncertainty regarding crypto regulation and the Federal Reserve’s leadership.
Asian markets and global assets react to easing tensions
Oil prices retreated from multi-month highs and gold eased from a record peak after US President Donald Trump sought to calm market anxiety over the risk of US military action against Iran.
Brent crude futures fell 3.3% to $64.32, while Nymex futures dropped 2.4% to $60.51, after having climbed as high as $66.82 and $62.36, respectively, in the previous session.
Gold slipped 0.8% to around $4,585 per ounce, after touching a record $4,642.72 on Wednesday.
Equity markets in Asia were mixed, with tech shares facing renewed selling pressure after declines on Wall Street.
In Japan, the tech-heavy Nikkei fell 0.8% after hitting an all-time high in the prior session, while the broader Topix rose 0.5% to a fresh record.
Taiwan’s TAIEX dropped 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4%, weighed down by technology stocks.
Mainland Chinese blue chips were flat, while South Korea’s KOSPI added 1% to a record high after the Bank of Korea left interest rates unchanged and signaled an end to its current easing cycle.
Currency markets paused after sharp moves in the yen.
The Japanese currency weakened overnight to its lowest level since July 2024 against the dollar before rebounding amid warnings of possible intervention.
The dollar index was flat at 99.107, while the yen eased to 158.32 per dollar after surging to as high as 159.45.
Japanese bond yields pulled back slightly from record peaks.
The 20-year yield eased two basis points to 3.14% after hitting an unprecedented 3.165% in the prior session.
Recent volatility has been driven by expectations that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will dissolve parliament’s lower house and call a snap election, a move investors see as potentially leading to larger fiscal stimulus.
Senate delays crypto market-structure markup
In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee delayed discussion of a closely watched crypto market-structure bill, hours after Coinbase Global withdrew its support for the latest draft.
Committee Chairman Tim Scott said a markup of the legislation would be postponed as bipartisan negotiations continue, without setting a new date.
“I’ve spoken with leaders across the crypto industry, the financial sector, and my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and everyone remains at the table working in good faith,” Scott said.
The market-structure bill aimed at strengthening the legitimacy of digital assets had been scheduled for markup on Thursday, a stage that includes debate and proposed amendments.
However, on Wednesday, Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said on social media platform X that he was withdrawing support for the bill’s latest draft, citing “too many issues.”
The delay could complicate the bill’s path to passage ahead of midterm elections.
Trump says no plans to remove Powell
President Trump said he does not plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite a Justice Department probe into the central bank’s renovation project.
“I don’t have any plan to do that,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters, adding it was “too early” to determine whether the probe could provide grounds to remove Powell.
Federal law allows Federal Reserve governors to be removed only for cause, not over policy disagreements.
Trump also said he was unfazed by criticism from Republican lawmakers who have raised concerns that the investigation could be seen as an effort to influence interest-rate decisions.
Trump reiterated that he intends to nominate Powell’s successor within the next few weeks and praised potential candidates Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh.
xAI blocks Grok from creating sexualized images
Separately, Elon Musk’s xAI said it is disabling the ability of its Grok chatbot to create sexualized images of real people following widespread criticism.
“We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis,” the company said.
Subscribers to X’s premium service can continue to use Grok to edit images and generate other AI-created visuals that comply with the platform’s terms of service, the company said.
It added that Grok has been restricted from producing images of real people in bikinis, underwear, or similar attire in jurisdictions where such content is illegal.
The move comes amid investigations by regulators in the US, Europe, and Asia, as scrutiny intensifies over the misuse of generative AI tools.
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