Japan and Hong Kong Index Drag Asia Lower, Europe Rises, While Crude Oil Nears $77 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Thursday, January 25th, U.S. stock markets closed higher, with the S&P 500 index hitting a record high for the fifth consecutive session, driven by robust U.S. Q4 economic growth despite Tesla’s drop after a weak sales forecast.

The U.S. economy saw a 3.3% growth in Q4, surpassing the 2% estimate but lower than Q3’s 4.9%. Jobless claims rose 25,000 to 214,000, while December’s durable goods orders remained steady.

Most sectors in the S&P 500 ended positively, led by energy, communication services, and utilities, while consumer discretionary and healthcare sectors underperformed, closing lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.64% and closed at 38,049.13, the S&P 500 rose 0.53% to 4,894.16, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.18%, ending the session at 15,510.50.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session lower by 1.34% at 35,751.07, led by losses in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Transportation Equipment, and Shipbuilding sectors.
• Australia markets were closed for Australia Day.
• India markets were closed for Republic Day. 
• China’s Shanghai Composite increased 0.14% to 2,910.22, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 0.27%, closing at 3,333.82.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 1.60%, concluding the day at 15,952.23.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.91%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.17%.
• France’s CAC climbed 2.03%.
• European stocks are on the rise, lifted by strong quarterly results from LVMH and Remy Cointreau, as investors weighed the likelihood of an interest rate cut following the ECB’s decision to keep rates steady.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.28%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.78% at $76.77/bbl, and Brent was down 0.45% at $82.05/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 1.01% to $2.203.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.28% at $2,023.55, Silver rose by 0.67% to $23.080, while Copper climbed 0.12% to $3.8737.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.18%, S&P 500 futures decreased 0.19%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 0.59%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.24% to 103.32, USD/JPY slid 0.03% to 147.62, and AUD/USD fell 0.24% to 1.5154.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels