Asia and Europe Trade Mixed, Crude Oil Up - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, August 30, the U.S. markets closed in green. The new economic data suggests a slowdown in the U.S. economy.

The Economic data indicated that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.1% in Q2 2023, lower than the initial 2.4% estimate and the 2.0% growth in Q1. 

In August, American private companies hired 177,000 employees, falling short of the anticipated 195,000 increase and down from a revised 371,000 rise in July.

Most sectors within the S&P 500 ended the day positively, with the largest gains seen in information technology and energy stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded with a 0.11% increase at 34,890.24; the S&P 500 advanced by 0.38%, finishing at 4,514.87; and the Nasdaq Composite experienced a 0.54% rise, concluding the session at 14,019.31.

Asian Markets Today 

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Thursday's session higher by 0.74% at 32,592.50, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Shipbuilding, and Banking sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.10%, ending the session at 7,305.30, led by gains in the Telecoms Services, IT, and Financials sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite closed the session at 3,119.88, down 0.55%. Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.61% to close at 3,765.27.
• Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 0.49%, closing at 18,393.00.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.25%. Germany's DAX index saw a 0.67% gain.
• France's CAC 40 fell by 0.07%.
• In Eurozone economic data, the Core Consumer Price Index (YoY) for August remained aligned with estimates of 5.3%, consistent with the previous reading of 5.5%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.07%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.48% at $82.02/bbl, and Brent was up 0.41% to $85.61/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 0.04% to $2.796.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.12% at $1,970.65, Silver was down 0.52% to $24.605, and Copper fell 0.77% to $3.8143.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET

Dow futures gained 0.34%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 futures was down 0.13%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.37% to 103.54. USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 145.94, while USD/AUD was up 0.21% at 1.5468.