Asia Up, Europe Markets Slip; Oil Prices Pressured While Gold Strengthens - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, November 18, U.S. markets ended mixed, partially recovering losses as investors awaited Nvidia’s highly anticipated Q3 earnings, seen as a key gauge of AI-driven market momentum.

Tesla shares climbed on optimism over potential policy shifts under the incoming Trump administration. While analysts note a widening focus beyond Nvidia, its influence on market sentiment remains significant.

In economic data, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 46 in November, marking its highest level in seven months, up from 43 in October.

S&P 500 sectors rose Monday, led by energy, communication services, and consumer discretionary stocks, while industrials declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13% and closed at 43,389.60, the S&P 500 gained 0.39% to 5,893.62, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.60% to finish at 18,791.81.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.45% and ended the session at 38,405.00, led by gains in the Paper & Pulp, Steel, and Warehousing sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.89% and ended the day at 8,374.00, led by gains in the Gold, IT, and Telecoms Services sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed 0.07% higher at 23,470.45, and Nifty 500 up 0.23% at 21,950.85, led by gains in the Auto, Real Estate and Consumer Durables sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.67% to close at 3,346.01, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.67%, finishing the day at 3,976.89.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.44% and closed the session at 19,663.67.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 1.47%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 1.07%.
• France’s CAC fell 1.32.
• FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.50%

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.88% at $68.56/bbl, and Brent was down 0.75% at $72.75/bbl.
• Oil prices dipped as Norway’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield resumed production, offsetting geopolitical tensions and Kazakhstan’s output cut. A stronger U.S. dollar also pressured prices while investors monitored escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions and weakening market structure signals.
• Natural Gas rose 0.30% to $2.982.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.94% at $2,639.20, Silver gained 0.92% to $31.508, and Copper fell 0.45% to $4.1015.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures declined 0.53%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.38% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.27%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.14% to 106.42, the USD/JPY was down 0.66% to 153.63, and the USD/AUD rose 0.17% to 1.5391.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock