Asian Markets Mixed, Europe Closed, Crude Oil Falls below $75 While Gold Hits $2,070 - Global Markets Today While Us Was Sleeping

On Friday, December 22nd, the U.S. stock markets closed mixed amid the holiday weekend as investors reacted to cooler-than-expected inflation data, increasing expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts in the new year.

Among the 11 primary divisions within the S&P 500, consumer discretionary emerged as the only sector that experienced losses, whereas consumer staples marked the most substantial percentage increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.05% at 37,385.97, the S&P 500 gained by 0.17% to 4,754.63, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.19%, ending the session at 14,992.97.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Tuesday's trading session higher by 0.16% at 33,305.85, led by gains in the Shipbuilding, Precision Instruments, and Rubber sectors.
• Australian markets closed for Boxing Day.
• 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 closed for Christmas.

Eurozone markets closed for Boxing Day.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.07% at $73.51/bbl, and Brent was up by 0.05 at $78.84/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 3.90% to $2.393.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.27% at $2,074.60, Silver gained 0.20% to $24.613, and Copper rose 0.19% to $3.9125.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.15%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.16%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose by 0.21%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.01% to 101.68, USD/JPY was up 0.01% to 142.36, and AUD/USD rose 0.04% to 1.4693.