Asia Mostly Lower Amid US Rate Concerns, Europe Dips While Crude Flirts Around $94 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, September 27, U.S. stock markets ended mixed, with investors oscillating between bargain hunting and concerns over increased Treasury yields and interest rate uncertainties.

Additionally, a potential U.S. government partial shutdown due to legislative divisions kept investors on edge.

In the S&P 500 sectors, utilities, sensitive to rates, saw the largest decline at 1.9%. Conversely, energy surged 2.5% as Brent crude surpassed $97 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.20% at 33,550.27. The S&P 500 saw a slight gain of 0.02%, settling at 4,274.51, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22% to conclude at 13,092.85.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 concluded Thursday’s session settling lower by 1.48% at 31,851.00. The decline was fueled by worries about overextended U.S. monetary tightening and investors selling off stocks after locking in dividend rights before the fiscal first half concludes.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.08% and closed at 7,024.80, driven by a slump in consumer stocks. An unanticipated decline in the monthly retail sales figures triggered this downturn.
• China’s Shanghai Composite closed the session higher by 0.10% at 3,110.48, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 0.30%, ending at 3,689.52.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Stock Exchange fell 1.15% to close at 17,351.00.
• Property stocks took a significant hit, with the suspension of trading for the troubled developer, China Evergrande, leading the downturn.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.38%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.25%.
• France’s CAC 40 slid 0.14%.
• European stocks declined for the sixth day, with energy stocks limiting losses. Investors await Germany’s inflation data.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.72%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.02% at $93.72/bbl, and Brent declined 0.23% to $94.12/bbl. 
• Natural Gas slid by 0.66% to $2.880.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.14% at $1,893.55, Silver rose 0.44% to $22.828, and Copper increased by 1.20% to $3.6790.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures fell 0.18%, S&P 500 futures were lower by 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined by 0.31%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.21% to 106.43. USD/JPY fell 0.27% to 149.23, and AUD/USD decreased by 0.55% to 1.5653.