Japan Shines As Aisa Market Gains, Europe Mixed, Crude Oil Above $81 - Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, March 15th, U.S. markets ended the day lower, primarily driven by a downturn in major technology stocks that have been central to this year’s market surge.

In economic data, U.S. industrial production increased by 0.1% in February. The NY Empire State Manufacturing Index dropped to -20.9 in March from -2.4 in February, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment declined to 76.5 in March, the lowest in three months, from 76.9 in February.

The S&P 500’s technology sector led the day’s declines, marking the largest drop among sectors. Most sectors closed lower, notably information technology, consumer discretionary, and communication services. However, energy and utilities stocks closed higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.49% to close at 38,714.77. The S&P 500 fell 0.65%, ending the day at 5,117.09, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.96%, finishing the session at 15,973.17.

Asian Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 2.53% at 39,716.50, led by gains in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Power and Mining sectors.
• Ahead of the BOJ’s meeting, speculation about its first rate hike in 17 years affects the Nikkei 225 and USDJPY. Reports of exiting negative rates led to market fluctuations.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.07% and closed at 7,675.80, led by gains in the Financials, Materials, and Industrials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.15% at 22,055.70, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.09% to 19,843.10.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.99% to 3,084.93, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.94%, closing at 3,603.53.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.10%, concluding the day at 16,737.12.

Eurozone at 07:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.18%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.20%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.09%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.25%.

Commodities at 07:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.67% at $81.12/bbl, and Brent was up 0.86% at $86.08/bbl.
• Natural Gas was up 5.62% to $1.748.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.07% at $2,163.01, Silver fell 0.28% to $25.310, while Copper slid 0.11% to $4.1200.

US Futures at 07:00 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.02%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.47%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.83%.

Forex at 07:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.03% to 103.40, USD/JPY was up 0.11% to 149.19, and USD/AUD declined 0.09% to 1.5227.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash