Dollar Hits New 2-Year High; Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Dips - Global Markets Today While Us Slept

On Thursday, January 2, U.S. markets closed in the red, with Wall Street ending lower after a day of volatile trading. The session was shaped by strong labor market data, a strengthening dollar, and a decline in Tesla stock. Investors remained cautious, awaiting key employment data and fourth-quarter earnings, while uncertainties over Federal Reserve rate decisions and economic trends continued to weigh on sentiment.

In economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims fell to 211,000 last week, below expectations of 222,000. The S&P Global manufacturing PMI slipped to 49.4 in December, slightly above preliminary estimates. Meanwhile, construction spending stalled in November, missing forecasts for a 0.3% increase after a revised 0.5% gain in October.

Most of the S&P 500 sectors ended lower, led by losses in consumer discretionary, materials, and real estate stocks. In contrast, energy and utilities stocks defied the trend, closing with gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% and closed at 42,392.27, the S&P 500 closed lower by 0.22% at 5,868.60, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.16% to finish at 19,280.79.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan’s market closed for New Year’s Day.
• On Friday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed higher by 0.60% at 8,250.50, led by gains in the Gold, Energy and A-REITs sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.82% at 23,990.15, and the Nifty 500 fell 0.56%, closing at 22,691.70, led by losses in the Technology, Banking, and Capital Goods sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 1.57% to close at 3,211.43, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 1.18%, finishing the day at 3,775.16.
• Hong Kong Hang Seng closed the session higher by 0.70% at 19,760.27.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.50%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.30%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.79%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.07%.
• European stocks dipped amid light post-holiday trading, with the STOXX 600 down 0.2% but set for weekly gains. Traders eyed economic data, interest rate paths, and potential U.S.-China trade tensions.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.30% at $72.88/bbl, and Brent was down 0.32% at $75.69/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 3.33% to $3.538.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.04% at $2,667.99, Silver was up 0.74% to $30.120, and Copper slid 0.04% to $4.0245.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.22%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.29%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.41%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.15% to 109.09, USD/JPY fell 0.08% to 157.34, and USD/AUD slid 0.20% to 1.6088.
• The dollar held near a two-year high amid strong U.S. growth expectations, while European stocks dipped on high gas prices, and China’s blue-chip index saw its steepest weekly loss since 2022.

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