Asia Markets Close Higher, Europe Rises, And Crude Oil Gains - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, November 29th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed amid easing recession worries and uncertainty over the Fed's policy duration, with investors awaiting the PCE inflation report.

In economic data, U.S. Q3 economic growth outperformed at 5.2%, surpassing expectations, while the October trade deficit widened to $89.8 billion from $86.8 billion in the prior month.

In the S&P 500, real estate and financial sectors saw the biggest gains, while communications services fell 1.1%, with Microsoft and Apple impacting the index most.

Related: Big-Tech Rally Continues: S&P 500 Could Return 11% In 2024

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% to 35,430.42, the S&P 500 declined 0.09% to 4,550.58, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.16%, ending the session at 14,258.49.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 ended Thursday's session higher by 0.43% at 33,486.89, led by gains in the Electrical/Machinery, Precision Instruments and Machinery sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.74%, closing the session at 7,087.30, led by gains in the industrial, I.T., and financial sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.26% to close the session at 3,029.67, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.23%, closing at 3,496.20.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.18% and closed at 17,028.50.
• China's November Composite PMI dipped to 50.4, with Manufacturing PMI at 49.4 and Non-Manufacturing PMI at 50.2, all slightly below previous figures and estimates.

Eurozone at 06:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.32%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.38%.
• France's CAC increased 0.44%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.56%.

Commodities at 06:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.30% at $78.88/bbl, and Brent was up by 1.25% at $83.96/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.57% to $2.820.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.38% at $2,039.30, Silver declined 0.23% to $25.017, and Copper slid 0.10% to $3.8217.

U.S. Futures at 06:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.46%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.19%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 0.23%.

Forex at 06:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.50% to 103.28. USD/JPY gained 0.29% to 147.68, and AUD/USD increased 0.28% to 1.5154.