Geopolitical Tensions Trigger Natural Gas Futures 11% Jump, Asia And Europe Markets Mixed - Global Markets Today While Us Slept

On Friday, December 27, U.S. markets closed lower, with Wall Street ending the week in a broad sell-off that broke the Dow’s recent winning streak. Rising Treasury yields and widespread profit-taking significantly impacted tech and growth stocks, including major players like Tesla and Nvidia. The sell-off also affected the top-performing S&P 500 stocks of the year, disrupting the anticipated year-end rally. Analysts attributed the decline to portfolio rebalancing and growing concerns over tech valuations amid shifting market conditions.

In economic data, U.S. wholesale inventories fell 0.2% in November to $902 billion, reversing a 0.1% gain in October and missing expectations of a 0.2% rise. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit in goods widened to $102.86 billion, exceeding forecasts of $100.7 billion.

All 11 major S&P sectors declined, with 2024’s top-performing indexes—consumer discretionary, information technology, and communication services—leading the losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.77% and closed at 42,992.21, the S&P 500 closed lower by 1.11% at 5,970.84, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.49% to finish at 19,722.03.

Asia Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.77% and ended the session at 39,968.00, led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Rubber, and Transportation Equipment sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed lower by 0.32% at 8,235.00, led by losses in the A-REITs, Utilities and Financials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 declined 0.64% to 23,661.10, and Nifty 500 was down 0.42%, closing at 22,351.95, led by losses in the Metals, Capital Goods, and Real Estate sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.21% to close at 3,407.33, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.45%, finishing the day at 3,999.05.
• Hong Kong Hang Seng closed the session lower by 0.24% at 20,041.42.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.01%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.01%.
• France’s CAC gained 0.11%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.20%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.20% at $70.46/bbl, and Brent was down 0.26% at $73.60/bbl.
• Oil prices remained steady in thin holiday trading as markets awaited U.S. and Chinese economic data. Optimism for China’s growth and low global oil stockpiles supported demand outlook for 2025.
• Natural Gas futures rose by 11.38% to $3.77. Ukraine has threatened to cease allowing Russian gas to flow across its territory from January 1 while at war. This could trigger retaliation from European Union territories that get gas supplies from Russia via pipeline.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.23% at $2,625.04, Silver was down 0.02% to $29.062 and slid 0.11% to $4.1178.

U.S. Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.16%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.22%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.20%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.12% to 107.86, USD/JPY fell 0.07% to 157.71, and USD/AUD fell 0.35% to 1.6029.
• The dollar held firm, supported by rising U.S. yields and expectations of prolonged high rates, while the yen hovered near five-month lows amid diverging central bank policies.

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