Asia Markets In Red, Europe Green, While Crude Oil And Gold In Rise - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, January 3rd, the U.S. stock markets closed lower amid profit-taking and lackluster response to the Federal Reserve's December meeting minutes.

The Federal Reserve's latest minutes from the December meeting showed that policymakers acknowledged that interest rates are likely at or near the cycle's peak, indicating a potential shift in monetary policy as the economic landscape evolves.

The minutes reflect an uneven progression in inflation control, particularly noting that "core services prices are still rising at an elevated pace." 

The economic data showed a drop of 62,000 in job openings to 8.79 million and an increase in the ISM manufacturing PMI to 47.4 in December from 46.7 in the prior month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.76%, closing at 37,430.19. The S&P 500 was down 0.80% to 4,704.81, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.18%, ending the trading session at 14,592.21.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Thursday's trading session lower by 0.56% at 33,288.29, led by losses in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Mining and Retail sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.39%, ending at 7,494.10, led by losses in the Gold, Consumer Staples and Metals & Mining sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.43% to 2,954.35, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 slipped 0.94%, closing at 3,347.05.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.08%, concluding the day at 16,614.00.
• In December, China's service sector exceeded expectations, with the Caixin Services PMI rising to 52.9, driven by stimulus measures and improved local demand, surpassing the predicted 51.6.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.35%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.29%.
• France's CAC rose 0.35%.
• The UK's FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.16%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.03% at $73.45/bbl, and Brent was up 0.84% at $78.90/bbl.
• Oil prices climbed over 1% amid supply worries following a shutdown at Libya's Sharara oilfield and growing Israel-Hamas tensions.
• Natural Gas gained 3.00% to $2.748.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.59% at $2,055.95, Silver climbed 0.20% to $23.203, and Copper slipped 0.25% to $3.8522.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.12%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.09%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.15%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.20% to 102.29, USD/JPY was up 0.62% to 144.19, and AUD/USD slid 0.08% to 1.4843.

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