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Oil’s rout showed signs of easing, while Asian stocks began Thursday mixed. The New Zealand dollar climbed.

West Texas Intermediate crude halted three days of declines that’s driven oil into a bear market amid concern over stockpiles in America. Japanese stocks were flat, while Australian shares bounced back after the biggest one-day drop since November. The kiwi rose after the nation’s central bank maintained its neutral policy stance.

The oil rout is raising the chance that inflation will be harder to come by, adding to concerns at the world’s most influential central banks. The weakness in crude and other commodities dents arguments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that weak inflation rates will be transitory, even as the economy shows few signs of distress. More reaction from policy makers may come from Jerome Powell, James Bullard and Loretta Mester who are all due to speak this week.

Here are the main market moves:

* Commodities

· West Texas oil added 0.3 percent to $42.64 a barrel in early trading Thursday after losing 2.3 percent on Wednesday.

· Brent crude entered a bear market Wednesday, plunging below $45 a barrel for the first time since November as skepticism that a supply glut will ease worsens. The world benchmark fell 2.6 percent, down more than 20 percent from its January peak.

* Stocks

· Futures on the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.1 percent. The underlying gauge fell 0.1 percent in New York, with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. contributing the most to the decline. The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed1 percent, continuing its rebound from a two-week selloff. It’s still 1.8 percent away from its June 8 high.

· Japan’s Topix index was little changed, as was South Korea’s Kospi index. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.4 percent, after tumbling 1.6 percent on Wednesday.

* Currencies

· The kiwi rose 0.4 percent to 72.55 U.S. cents. Read more on the central bank decision here.

· The pound grabbed the center of the G-10 currency stage on Wednesday after remarks from Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane contrasted sharply with the tone set by the bank’s Governor Mark Carney just the day before. Sterling climbed 0.3 percent and traded early Thursday at $1.2675.

· The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell less than 0.1 percent. The yen rose less than 0.1 percent to 111.30per dollar.

* Bonds

· The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell less than one basis point to 2.16 percent.

· Australian government bonds with a similar maturity saw yields steady at 2.39 percent.

Reference: Bloomberg