Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Dips, Crude Oil Trades Over $76 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Friday, February 23rd, U.S. stock markets closed mixed, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones hitting new highs, supported by weekly gains across Wall Street and the continued rally in AI stocks.

In economic data, Baker Hughes reported a rise of 6 rigs in the total active U.S. oil rigs count this week.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed with gains, with utilities, materials, and industrials leading the pack.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained by 0.16%, closing at 39,131.53, the S&P 500 rose 0.03% to reach 5,088.80, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.28%, concluding the trading day at 15,996.82.

Asian Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 0.28% at 39,208.50, led by gains in the Shipbuilding, Precision Instruments, and Paper & Pulp sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.12% and closed at 7,652.80, led by gains in the Gold, Consumer Discretionary, and IT sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.41% at 22,122.05, and the Nifty 500 slipped 0.28% to 20,255.80.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.93% to 2,977.02, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 1.04%, closing at 3,453.36.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.54%, concluding the day at 16,634.74.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.25%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 0.03%.
• France’s CAC declined 0.32%.
• The UK’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.35%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.20% at $76.34/bbl, and Brent was down 0.22% at $80.62/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 4.77% to $1.780.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.39% at $2,041.35, Silver slid 1.69% to $22.808, while Copper declined 1.15% to $3.8555.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 013%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.02%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.13% to 103.79, USD/JPY was up 0.08% to 150.62, and AUD/USD rose 0.24% to 1.5267.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash