Asia And Europe Markets Slide, Crude Oil Cools Off And Gold Hovers Around $2K - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Friday, October 20, U.S. stock markets closed in red as investors worried about potential interest rate increases and the expanding Israel-Hamas conflict.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors experienced declines, with technology and financials leading the downturn. The third-quarter U.S. earnings season is in full swing, with 86 S&P 500 companies having reported their results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.86% to 33,127.28, the S&P 500 dipped 1.26% to 4,224.16, while the Nasdaq Composite was down by 1.53% and closed at 12,983.81.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.80% lower at 30,999.55 on Monday, led by losses in the Power, Retail and Communication sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.82%, closing the session at 6,844.10, led by losses in the Energy, Resources, and Metals and mining sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.47% to close the session at 2,939.29, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 dropped 1.04%, closing at 3,474.24.
• Hong Kong was closed for Chung Yeung Day.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.82%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 1.03%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.49%.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.70%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.41% at $87.72/bbl, and Brent was down 0.27% at $91.90/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.77% to $3.234.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.83% at $1,989.45, Silver declined 0.83% to $23.310, and Copper was down 0.51% to $3.5447.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.63%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.6883%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.89%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.06% to 106.22. USD/JPY rose 0.08% to 149.96, and AUD/USD gained 0.39% to 1.5890.