Asia And Europe Markets Mixed; Crude Oil Up Amid China Stimulus Hope, Dollar Strengthens - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, December 10th, U.S. markets closed lower, with losses in the technology sector outweighing gains in communications services. Investors remained cautious ahead of key inflation data, including the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index, which are expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s upcoming interest rate decision.

Economic data shows that labor productivity in the U.S. nonfarm business sector rose by 2.2% during the third quarter, consistent with the preliminary estimate.

Most S&P 500 sectors fell, led by real estate, tech, and materials, while communication services and consumer staples gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.35% and closed at 44,247.83, the S&P 500 declined 0.30% to 6,034.91, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.25% to finish at 19,687.24.

Asia Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.07% and ended the session at 39,394.50, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Steel, and Electrical/Machinery sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.47% and ended the day at 8,353.60, led by losses in the IT, Industrials and Energy sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.08% to 24,629.45, and the Nifty 500 was up 0.14%, closing at 23,346.40. Gains in the Consumer Durables, Auto, and IT sectors led shares higher, while losses in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Healthcare, and Power sectors led shares lower.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.29% to close at 3,432.49, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.17%, finishing the day at 3,988.83.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.77% and closed the session at 20,155.05.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.10%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.04%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.02%.
• UK’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.01%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.01% at $69.29/bbl, and Brent was up 0.90% at $72.84/bbl.
• Oil prices rose on optimism over China’s monetary easing plans, though rising U.S. crude and fuel inventories tempered gains.
• Natural Gas gained 2.56% to $3.244.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.18% at $2,723.11, Silver was down 0.59% to $32.550, and Copper fell 0.63% to $4.2455.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.15%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.18%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index gained 0.31% to 106.73, the USD/JPY rose 0.38% to 152.52, and the USD/AUD rose 0.45% to 1.5750.
• The U.S. dollar strengthened, supported by expectations of resilient inflation ahead of the CPI report and concerns over China’s potential yuan weakening, which weighed on Asian and European currencies.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock