Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Gains, While Crude Oil Trades Above $78 - Global Market Overview While The US Slept

On Tuesday, February 13th, U.S. stock markets closed lower following an unexpected surge in consumer inflation, which tempered anticipations of impending interest rate reductions and drove U.S. Treasury yields higher.

In economic data, January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.1% on an annual basis, surpassing the anticipated 2.9% yet falling below December’s rate of 3.4%. Meanwhile, core inflation remained constant at 3.9%, exceeding the projected 3.7%. The monthly data outstripped expectations, influencing forecasts for interest rates.

This economic update triggered a significant market reaction, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average recording its sharpest one-day percentage decline in nearly 11 months. The downturn was primarily driven by the unexpected increase in U.S. consumer prices for January, with the surge in housing costs being a key factor.

Among the S&P 500’s 11 major sector indexes, real estate, consumer discretionary, and utilities sectors experienced the most significant losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.35% and closed at 38,272.75, the S&P 500 fell 1.37% to 4,953.17, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.80%, ending the session at 15,655.60.

Asian Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session lower by 0.60% at 37,703.32, led by losses in the Construction, Food, and Real Estate sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.74% and closed at 7,547.70, led by losses in the Gold, IT and Financials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.45% at 21,840.05, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.70% to 19,922.30. 
• China closed for The Chinese New Year.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.84%, concluding the day at 15,879.38.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.39%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.21%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.39%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.85%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.35% at $78.14/bbl, and Brent was up 0.46% at $83.16/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 1.24% to $1.668
• Gold was trading lower by 0.07% at $2,005.80, Silver fell 0.23% to $22.102, while Copper gained 0.19% to $3.7180.

US Futures at 06:015AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.23%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.36%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.53%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.04% to 104.91, USD/JPY fell 0.14% to 150.58, and AUD/USD slid 0.37% to 1.5437.

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