Global FX TESTING DATA:

• • • Asian markets
      
      

      Asian shares gained on Friday as technology shares were boosted by upbeat earnings from U.S. high-tech giants while the euro hovered near three-month low against the dollar after the European Central Bank extended its stimulus.

    • GOLD
      
      
      Gold was little changed on Friday, after dipping to a three-week low as the dollar gained against the euro after the European Central Bank extended its bond buying programme.
       
    • OIL
      
       Oil prices inched higher on Friday, with Brent crude approaching $60 a barrel amid tightening market expectations, buoyed by comments from Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince backing the extension of OPEC-led output cuts.
       
    • INDIA
      
       India will announce new policies to help global companies participate more in its oil and gas sector, Oil Secretary K.D. Tripathi said on Thursday.

    • BRAZIL
      
      Brazil’s government will resume discussions over a proposed pension reform with party leaders in Congress in the coming days, a minister said on Thursday.

    • US
      
      The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on seven North Korean individuals and three entities for “flagrant” human rights abuses, including killings, torture, forced labour and the hunting down of asylum seekers abroad.
       
    • CHINA
      
      Profits for China’s industrial powerhouses surged the most in nearly six years in September as a government crackdown on air pollution sparked fears of winter supply shortages and sent prices of finished goods like steel and copper sharply higher.
       
    • SINGAPORE
      
      Singapore’s labour demand is expected to improve in the near term but accumulated slack in the market will take time to be absorbed and wage pressures are unlikely to build up rapidly, the central bank said on Friday.
       
    • SOUTH KOREA
      
      South Korea said on Friday it will accept the release of a South Korean fishing boat captured by North Korea later in the day, with a government spokesman saying it is “a relief” the crewmen on board would be returned.
       
    • NORTH KOREA
      
      North Korea said it will release a South Korean fishing boat on Friday after it was found illegally in North Korean waters, state media reported, as the U.S. defence secretary visited the heavily militarised border dividing the Korean peninsula.
       
    • AUSTRALIAN
      
      Australia’s High Court ruled on Friday that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is ineligible to remain in parliament, a stunning decision that cost the government its one-seat parliamentary majority and forced a by-election.