What Did Global Markets Do Today While US Was Sleeping?

On Tuesday, August 22, U.S. markets closed mostly lower; the stocks of various banks declined following S&P Global's decision to lower credit ratings for several U.S. banks.

Most sectors within the S&P 500 ended the Tuesday session with declines, with the energy and financial sectors experiencing the most significant drops. Real estate and utility stocks saw gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.51% at 34,288.83 on Tuesday; the S&P 500 was down 0.28% and closed at 4,387.55; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.06%, ending the session at 13,505.87.

Asian Markets Today 

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Wednesday's session higher by 0.50% at 32,044.50, led by gains in the Banking, Precision Instruments, and Automobiles & Parts sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.38%, ending the session at 7,148.40, led by gains in the Consumer Staples, Metals & Mining, and Materials sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite closed the session at 3,078.40, down 1.34%, and Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 1,64% to close at 3,696.63. 
• Hon Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.34%, closing at 17,835.00.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The Pan-European STOXX 600 index is up 0.59%. 
• The DAX index in Germany traded 0.48% higher, and the CAC 40 in France rose 0.46%.
• European investors digest the early August PMI figures for manufacturing and services sectors, using them to gauge the health of the European economic recovery.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.89%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.83% at $78.95/bbl, and Brent was down 0.84% to $83.32/bbl.
• Natural Gas slid 0.16% to $2.557.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.33% at $1,932.45, Silver rose by 1.61% to $23.828, and Copper was up 0.69% to $3.783.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.36%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.50%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.68%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.27% to 103.84. USD/JPY was down 0.31% to 145.42, while USD/AUD was down 0.07% to 1.556.