Asia And Europe Markets Decline, Crude Oil Hits $86, Gold Stays Near Record Highs - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, April 4th, the U.S. stock markets ended lower, following cautious statements from Federal Reserve officials regarding potential interest rate cuts and anticipation for the upcoming U.S. jobs report.

In economic data, U.S. jobless claims climbed by 11,000 to 221,000 in March, the highest in two months. The trade deficit also expanded to $68.9 billion in February from a revised $67.6 billion the previous month.

All of the S&P 500 sectors experienced declines, with technology leading the downturn; in contrast, shares related to defense saw gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.25% to close at 38,596.98. The S&P 500 was down 1.23%, ending the day at 5,147.21, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.40%, finishing the session at 16,049.08.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index concluded the trading day down by 2.03% at 39,010.00, marking its most challenging week since December 2022. The downturn was primarily driven by a tech sell-off, mirroring trends on Wall Street, and was compounded by anticipation of a significant U.S. jobs report. 
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slid by 0.56% to close at 7,773.30, led by losses in the IT, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 closed flat at 20,715.10, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.24% to 20,715.10.
• China markets were closed for the Ching Ming Festival.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed slightly lower by 0.01% at $16,723.92.

Eurozone at 06:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.28%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 1.46%.
• France’s CAC fell 1.43%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.92%.

Commodities at 06:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.27% at $86.81/bbl, and Brent was up 0.44% at $91.04/bbl.
• Oil prices climbed, set for another weekly gain, driven by geopolitical tensions, supply concerns, and optimism for rising global fuel demand with economic improvements.
• Natural Gas was up 0.34% at $1.780.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.20% at $2,312.95, Silver declined 1.28% to $26.898, while Copper was down 0.70% at $4.2200.

US Futures at 06:30 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.13%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.25%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.30%.

Forex at 06:30 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index climbed 0.13% to 104.27, the USD/JPY rose 0.02% to 151.36, and the USD/AUD rose 0.05% to 1.5188.

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