Asia Mixed, Europe Gains, Natural Gas Eases After Rally - Global Markets Today While Us Slept

On Monday, December 30, U.S. markets closed in the red, with major indexes down over 0.5% amid light holiday trading. Despite the decline, 2024 was a standout year for equities, with the Nasdaq up 30%, the S&P 500 rising over 24%, and the Dow gaining 13%. Technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary sectors led with nearly 30% gains, while materials posted the only sector loss. Nvidia surged 180% on AI optimism. Geopolitical tensions, Fed rate cuts, and Donald Trump’s re-election after Joe Biden stepped aside for Kamala Harris shaped the year.

In economic data, the Chicago PMI dropped to 36.9 in December, missing expectations of 42.5. U.S. pending home sales rose 2.2% in November, exceeding the 0.7% forecast, while the Dallas Fed’s Texas manufacturing index climbed to 3.4 in December.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors closed lower, led by consumer discretionary, with materials and healthcare also posting notable losses amid cautious market sentiment.

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

• Japan’s market closed for New Year’s Day.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed early today, lower by 0.92% at 8,159.10.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed flat at 23,644.80, and Nifty 500 declined 0.08%, closing at 22,375.40, led by gains in the Capital Goods, Public Sector Undertakings, and Oil & Gas sectors led shares higher, while losses in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Technology sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.63% to close at 3,351.76, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 1.60%, finishing the day at 3,934.91.
• Hong Kong Hang Seng closed the session higher by 0.09% at 20,059.95.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 closed for New Year’s Day.
• Germany’s DAX closed for New Year’s Day.
• France’s CAC gained 0.57%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.58%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.96% at $71.67/bbl, and Brent was up 0.82% at $74.60/bbl.
• Natural Gas fell 4.17% to $3.772.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.28% at $2,625.51, Silver was up 0.11% to $29.450 and slid 0.98% to $4.0530.
• Gold prices are set to close in 2024 up 26%, marking the best annual performance since 2010. This is driven by central bank demand, geopolitical risks, and monetary easing. Silver rose 22%, while platinum and palladium posted annual declines.

U.S. Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.24%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.33%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.41%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.14% to 107.98, USD/JPY fell 0.11% to 156.66, and USD/AUD rose 0.14% to 1.6092.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock