Asia Closes Higher, Europe Trades Higher Along With Crude and Gold - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Thursday, August 31, the U.S. markets ended mixed as investors reflected on a blend of economic indicators that were released.

U.S. initial jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 228,000 in the week ending August 26, beating market estimates of 235,000. Core PCE prices in the U.S. rose 0.2% month-over-month in July.

In July, the core PCE price index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, rose by 0.2%, matching expectations and the previous month's pace.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average concluded with a 0.48% decline, settling at 34,721.91, while the S&P 500 experienced a 0.16% decrease, concluding the day at 4,507.66. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite recorded a 0.11% increase, ending its session at 14,034.97.

Asian Markets Today 

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Friday's session higher by 0.41% at 32,727.50, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Shipbuilding, and Banking sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.37%, ending the session at 7,278.30, led by losses in the Healthcare, Gold, and Utilities sectors.
• Shanghai Composite closed the session at 3,133.25, up 0.43%, and Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.70% to close at 3,791.49.
• In August, the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) surged to 51.0, surpassing both expectations (49.3) and the previous month's figure (49.2). 
• Hang Seng Stock Exchange in Hong Kong was closed today.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.36%. Germany's DAX index was up 0.07%, and France's CAC 40 gained by 0.31%.
• In August 2023, the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the Eurozone rose to its highest level in three months, reaching 43.50 points, up from July's 42.70 points.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.53%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.99% at $84.42/bbl, and Brent was up 0.96% to $87.67/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 0.72% to $2.748.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.23% at $1,970.35, Silver was up 0.73% to $24.992, and Copper rose 1.32% to $3.8723.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures gained 0.34%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.30%, and Nasdaq 100 futures was up 0.14%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.05% to 103.56. USD/JPY was down 0.08% to 145.41, while USD/AUD was up 0.11% at 1.5449.