- Financial markets remained roiled by the fear that tight monetary policy by major central banks might send the global economy into recession.

- When falling over 2% earlier in the day, the S&P 500 recovered nearly all of its losses by the close after Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly told Bloomberg News that a 75-basis-point rate hike is "not a primary consideration." As investors sought safe haven assets, treasuries gained alongside the dollar and the yen.

- The caution engendered by rising rates stayed firm on Thursday, as data revealed that prices paid to US producers increased more than expected in April, bolstering expectations that the Fed will tighten policy further.

- Amid concerns about the economy, the dollar climbed versus all but one of its main counterparts. The euro fell to a five-year low, the Swiss franc fell to parity with the dollar for the first time since 2019, and Hong Kong's monetary authorities intervened to protect the currency peg. Only the yen, a traditional safe haven that, ironically, hasn't played that role as much recently, rose close to 2% at one point.

- On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Jerome Powell for a second four-year term as Fed Chairman, trusting him to deal with the country's highest inflation in decades. The Fed began raising interest rates in March and says it will continue to do so until pricing pressures subside, in the hopes of avoiding a disaster. However, sceptics question if the central bank can prevent a recession by tightening monetary policy, which had been dramatically loosened during the outbreak.

- Mortgage rates in the US jumped again this week, extending a sharp climb that is shutting some would-be homebuyers out of the market. The average for a 30-year loan was 5.3%, up from 5.27% last week, and the highest since July 2009, according to Freddie Mac.