Asia Markets Mostly In Red, Europe Up, Crude Oil Nears $75 - Global Markets Today While Us Was Sleeping

On Thursday, December 21st, the U.S. stock markets closed in green as economic data spurred hopes for a more relaxed Federal Reserve policy, boosting investor confidence.

In economic data, U.S. jobless claims rose to 205,000, below expectations of 215,000, while Q3 economic growth adjusted down to 4.9%, a decrease from the previously estimated 5.2%.

Each of the S&P 500's 11 key sectors closed higher, with consumer discretionary stocks leading in percentage growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.87% at 37,404.35, the S&P 500 gained by 1.03% to 4,746.75, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.26%, ending the session at 14,963.87.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Friday's trading session higher by 0.03% at 33,169.05, led by gains in the Gas & Water, Paper & Pulp and Railway & Bus sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.03%, ending at 7,501.60, led by gains in the Gas and Water, Paper and pulp, and Railway and bus sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.13% to 2,914.78, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.19%, closing at 3,337.23.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 1.77%, concluding the day at 16,326.00.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.05%.
• Germany's DAX declined 0.03%.
• France's CAC gained 0.07%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.26%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.93% at $74.58/bbl, and Brent was up by 0.74% at $79.98/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 1.24% to $2.604.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.78% at $2,067.45, Silver gained 0.69% to $24.755, and Copper declined 0.17% to $3.9018.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET            

Dow futures were down 0.27%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.07%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped by 0.16%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.20% to 101.65, USD/JPY was up 0.05% to 142.18, and AUD/USD rose 0.03% to 1.4706.