Asia Markets Up, Europe Mixed, Crude Oil Hovers Near $82 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, March 19th, U.S. markets ended the day higher as shares of the prominent chipmaker Nvidia bounced back from early losses. Investors were also keenly awaiting the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, hoping for insights into future interest rate decisions.

According to economic data, U.S. housing starts jumped 10.7% to a 1.521 million annual rate in February, rebounding from January’s 12.3% drop. Building permits increased by 1.9% to 1.518 million, surpassing expectations of 1.495 million.

In the S&P 500, all major sectors except communications services saw gains, Energy, consumer discretionary, and utilities led Tuesday’s advances.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.83% to close at 39,110.76. The S&P 500 was up 0.58%, ending the day at 5,178.51, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.39%, finishing the session at 16,166.79.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan Markets closed for Vernal Equinox Day
• On Wednesday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.10% and closed the session at 7,695.80, led by losses in the Gold, IT and Utilities sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.10% at 21,839.10, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.11% to 19,632.05.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.55% to 3,079.69, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.22%, closing at 3,585.38.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.08%, concluding the day at 16,543.07.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.08%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.12%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.61%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.16%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.71% at $82.14/bbl, and Brent was down 0.64% at $86.82/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 1.26% to $1.723.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.14% at $2,156.60, Silver fell 0.57% to $24.992, while Copper slid 0.92% to $4.0370.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.10%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.01%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.52% to 104.13, USD/JPY up 0.57% to 151.69 and USD/AUD gained 0.27% to 1.5348.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock