Gold Clocks New High At $2,415, Asia Markets Sans Japan Dip, Europe Gains - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, April 11th, the U.S. stock markets ended mostly higher, led by tech momentum stocks amid signs of cooling inflation. The Nasdaq gained from interest-rate-sensitive tech giants, while the S&P 500 saw gains, and the Dow remained nearly flat.

According to the economic data, U.S. producer prices increased by 0.2% in March, below February’s 0.6% rise and expectations of 0.3%. Initial jobless claims dropped to 211,000 last week, beating estimates of 215,000.

Wednesday’s higher-than-anticipated CPI data caused a significant drop in stocks. They pushed Treasury yields to a peak not seen since November, tempering expectations for up to three central bank rate cuts by year-end, possibly beginning in June.

Technology led the way in the S&P 500’s 11 key sectors, while financial stocks trailed behind.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.01% to close at 38,459.08. The S&P 500 gained 0.74%, ending the day at 5,199.06, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.68%, finishing the session at 16,442.20.

 Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index concluded the trading day higher by 0.31% at 39,567.00, led by gains in the Gas & Water, Power, and Construction sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.33% to finish at 7,788.10, led by losses in the Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, and A-REITs sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 1.03% at 22,519.40, and the Nifty 500 slid 0.81% to 20,745.50.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.49% to end the session at 3,019.47, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 slipped 0.81%, closing at 3,475.84. 
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.18%, concluding the day at 16,721.69.  

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.80%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.92%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.90%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.27%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.3% at $86.13/bbl, and Brent was up 1.02% at $90.79 bbl.
• Natural Gas was up 0.23% at $1.763.
• Gold was trading higher by 1.75% at $2,414.80, Silver gained 3.39% to $29.220, while Copper was up 2.23% at $4.3480.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.03%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.35%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.51% to 105.81, the USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 153.35, and the USD/AUD rose 0.61 % to 1.5389.

Aleksandar Grozdanovski photo via Shutterstock