Asia and Europe Markets Gain, Gold Surges To Record High Crossing $2,200 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, March 20th, U.S. stock markets closed with gains following the Federal Reserve’s announcement to keep borrowing costs stable while suggesting the possibility of up to three interest rate reductions this year, soothing investor worries.

In economic data, the Fed maintained interest rates at 5.25-5.5% for March, as expected, while indicating forthcoming rate cuts. U.S. crude oil stocks unexpectedly fell by 1.952 million barrels last week, contrary to predictions of a minor rise.

Related: Fed Chair Powell Opens Door To Rate Cuts This Year, Downplays Recent Inflation Upticks: S&P 500 Rises To All-Time Highs

Most S&P 500 sectors gained, led by an increase in consumer discretionary stocks, though healthcare and energy sectors declined, with nine of eleven major sectors advancing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.03% to close at 39,512.13. The S&P 500 was up 0.89%, ending the day at 5,224.62, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.25%, finishing the session at 16,369.41.

Asian Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 2.08% at 40,835.00, led by gains in the Paper & Pulp, Power and Rubber sectors.
• The Nikkei 225 soared after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s continued easing path contrasted with the Bank of Japan’s first rate hike since 2007. Despite this, the BOJ signals an ongoing accommodative policy.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.12% and closed at 7,782.00, led by gains in the Gold, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• Australia’s labor market exceeded expectations in February, with a surge of 116,500 jobs dramatically reducing unemployment to a six-month low of 3.7%, despite a slight dip in the participation rate to 66.7%.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.79% at 22,011.95, and the Nifty 500 rose 1.35% to 19,897.40.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.08% to 3,077.11, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 0.12%, closing at 3,581.09.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.93%, concluding the day at 16,863.10.

Eurozone at 06:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.56%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.32%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.03%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.91%.

Commodities at 06:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.18% at $81.12/bbl, and Brent was down 0.15% at $85.81/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 0.53% to $1.690.
• Gold was trading higher by 2.38% at $2,212.45, Silver gained 2.40% to $25.707, while Copper rose 0.87% to $4.0868.

US Futures at 06:30 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.25%, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.35%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.70%.

Forex at 06:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.42% to 103.41, USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 150.95, and USD/AUD slid 0.41% to 1.5121.

Image: Steve Bidmead from Pixabay