The US dollar index, which measures strength of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, strengthened in early trade today as rising cases of COVID-19 sparked fears of a second wave of the pandemic, which increased a demand for the safe haven currency. The yield on the 10-year benchmark US Treasury note ended lower on Thursday after data showed higher-than-expected US jobless claims data. Mounting concerns over economic recovery due to rising cases on COVID-19 also weighed on prices. Asian Indices were slightly higher in early trade today amid low volumes as investors assessed the situation surrounding a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.Nikkei 225 was up on the back of gains in chip-related stocks, and hopes for further resumption of economic activities. Japan will lift all domestic travel restrictions today.European Indices ended in red on Thursday as rising cases of COVID-19 in the US and China dampened the hopes of a quick global economy recovery.Indices also fell after the Bank of England expanded its bond-buying program and held interest rates steady at 0.1%.Investors had hoped for a larger boost from the central bank. The central bank added another 100 bln pound sterling to its quantitative easing programme to soften the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK’s economy.Crude Oil Futures settled higher on Thursday after major producers at an OPEC-led meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee reiterated the importance of full compliance with pledged production cuts and said that they would make up for any previous shortfalls in July, August and September.