Asia Mixed, Europe Slides, Crude Under $85 While Gold Hovers Around $2K - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Tuesday, October 24, U.S. stock markets closed higher as investor sentiment improved due to favorable corporate earnings.

Under economic data, the U.S. manufacturing PMI rose to 50 in October, beating expectations, while the Services PMI increased to 50.9 in the same month, compared to 50.1 in the previous month.

Investors await GDP and PCE price index data later this week, which may impact Federal Reserve policy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.62% to 33,141.38, the S&P 500 was up 0.73% to 4,247.68, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.93% and closed at 13,139.88.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.60% higher at 31,269.92 on Wednesday, led by gains in the Mining, Paper & Pulp and Steel sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.04%, closing the session at 6,854.30, led by losses in the Gold, A-REITs and Consumer Staples sectors and an unexpected surge in inflation during the September quarter.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.40% to close the session at 2,974.11, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.50%, closing at 3,504.46.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.44% and closed at 17,074.00.
• Chinese indexes bounced back after Beijing announced a 1 trillion yuan government bond issuance to support the economy, with a focus on infrastructure and disaster recovery, boosting construction and utility stocks. 

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.37%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 0.32%.
• France’s CAC declined 0.43%.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.08%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.08% at $83.67/bbl, and Brent was up 0.06% at $88.12/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.81% to $3.349.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.26% at $1,981.05, Silver declined 1.03% to $22.88, and Copper was down 0.67% to $3.5998.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.04%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.42% and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.64%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.21% to 106.49. USD/JPY gained 0.02% to 149.94, and AUD/USD climbed 0.43% to 1.5796.