Asia And Europe Markets Rise, Gold Holds Above $3,000 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, March 14, U.S. markets closed sharply higher as investors hunted for bargains following a turbulent week marked by rising recession fears and escalating trade tensions under President Trump. A strong tech-led rebound boosted major indexes, though all three still posted weekly losses.

Persistent uncertainty, fueled by mixed inflation data, plunging consumer sentiment, and erratic policy signals, continues to rattle investor confidence and amplify economic concerns.

In economic data, University of Michigan consumer sentiment fell to 57.9 in March, the lowest since November 2022, below February’s 64.7 and expectations of 63.1.

All S&P 500 sectors ended higher on Friday, led by strong gains in technology, energy, and financial stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.30% to close at 40,813.57, the S&P 500 slid 1.39% to 5,521.52, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.96% to 17,303.01.

Asia Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.95% to 37,429.00, led by gains in the Power, Rubber and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.83% and closed at 7,854.10, led by gains in the Metals & Mining, Resources and Materials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.53% to 22,515.05, and Nifty 500 WAS UP 0.56% at 20,288.40.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.19% to 3,426.13, and the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.24% to 3,996.79.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng increased 0.77%, ending the session at 24,145.57.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was up 0.13%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.28%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.21%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.21%
• European stocks edged higher Monday as hopes rose for a landmark German debt deal to boost economic growth.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.91% at $67.52/bbl, and Brent was up 0.89% at $71.21/bbl.
• Oil prices rose Monday as U.S. strikes on Yemen’s Houthis and strong Chinese economic data boosted demand outlook despite no supply disruptions and lingering concerns over global growth and geopolitical tensions.     
• Natural Gas gained 1.51% to $4.166.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.10% at $3,004.46, Silver was down 0.32% to $34.323, and Copper rose 0.17% to $4.9048.
• Gold edged higher Monday, trading near record highs as investors remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Fed meeting.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.47%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.45% and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.44%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.13% to 103.59, USD/JPY was down 0.01% to 148.61, and USD/AUD declined 0.40% to 1.5751.
• The U.S. dollar neared a five-month low Monday, weighed by Trump’s trade policies and weak data, while the euro and yen gained on strong domestic drivers.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock