Geopolitical Tensions Weigh On World Markets, Dollar Index And Gold Show Strength - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, April 15, the U.S. stock markets ended lower, wiping out initial gains fueled by a robust March retail sales report amid surging Treasury yields and escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. 

As per economic data, U.S. retail sales rose by 0.7% in March after a 0.9% increase in February, while the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index improved to -14.3 in April from -20.9 the previous month.

The S&P 500 experienced its most significant percentage fall since January 31, despite the early uplift from encouraging retail figures.

All 11 major S&P sectors were down, with the interest-rate-sensitive real estate and utilities sectors being among the hardest hit.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.65% to close at 37,735.11. The S&P 500 fell 1.20%, ending the day at 5,061.82, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.79%, finishing the session at 15,885.02.

Asian Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended the trading day lower by 1.88% at 38,470.50, led by losses in the Paper and pulp, Retail, and Chemical, Petroleum and plastic sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.81% to finish at 7,612.50, led by losses in the Consumer Discretionary, Metals & Mining, and Utilities sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.56% at 22,147.90, and the Nifty 500 slid 0.27% to 20,423.00.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 1.65% to end the session at 3,007.07, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 1.07%, closing at 3,511.11.
• China’s economy grew by 5.3% in Q1 2024, surpassing expectations due to government stimulus and a boost in business activity. Quarter-on-quarter growth was 1.6%.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 2.12%, concluding the day at 16,248.97.
• Asian stocks fell as strong U.S. March retail sales lifted the dollar to five-month highs, suggesting the Fed might delay rate cuts. Geopolitical tensions drove up gold and oil, with eyes on China’s GDP data.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 1.35%.
• Germany’s DAX declined by 1.27%.
• France’s CAC slid 1.26%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 1.37%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.52% at $84.97/bbl, and Brent was down 0.47% at $89.68 bbl.
• Natural Gas was up 0.47% at $1.700.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.13% at $2,385.85, Silver fell 1.33% to $28.337, and Copper was down 1.51% at $4.3125.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.25%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.18%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.06% to 106.27, the USD/JPY rose 0.19% to 154.56, and the USD/AUD rose 0.43 % to 1.5590.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock