Asia Up, Europe Markets Mixed; Dollar Steadies - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, January 15, U.S. markets closed significantly higher, with major indexes recording their largest gains in over two months. The rally was fueled by softer-than-expected inflation data (CPI, PPI) and robust bank earnings. While expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts increased, concerns about inflation and potential policy shifts under the incoming Trump administration persisted.

In economic data, the Consumer Price Index rose 2.9% year-over-year in December, up from 2.7% in November, aligning with forecasts. Monthly inflation climbed 0.4%, the sharpest increase since March 2024, following November’s 0.3% gain.

Most S&P 500 sectors rose, with consumer discretionary, communication services, and financials leading gains, while consumer staples closed slightly lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.65% and closed at 43,221.55, the S&P 500 closed higher by 1.83% at 5,949.91, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.45% to finish at 19,511.23.

Aisa Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.32% at 38,594.50, led by gains in the Banking, Services, and Electrical/Machinery sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.38%, ending the session at 8,327.00, led by gains in the Financials, A-REITs, and Gold sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.59% at 23,350.50, and Nifty 500 gained 0.88% closing at 21,740.60,
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.28% and closed at 3,236.03, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.11%, finishing the day at 3,800.38.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed the session higher by 1.23% at 19,522.89.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was up 1.32%.
• Germany’s DAX fell 0.10%.
• France’s CAC rose 1.98%.
• U.K.’s FTSE index 100 traded higher by 0.88%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.01% at $76.68/bbl, and Brent was down 0.11% at $81.94/bbl.
• Oil prices steadied after hitting multi-month highs, driven by U.S. sanctions on Russia and a sharp crude stock drop, while OPEC+ maintained caution on supply amid rising global demand.
• Natural Gas declined 0.42% to $4.066.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.75% at $2,738.31, Silver was up 1.32% to $31.948, and Copper rose 0.90% to $4.4287.

U.S. Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.01%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.19% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.31%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.05% to 109.06, USD/JPY declined 0.42% to 155.73, and USD/AUD gained 0.21% to 1.6092.
• The U.S. dollar steadied despite falling bond yields after inflation data, as the focus shifted to Trump’s inauguration and its inflationary implications.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock