Asia Ex-China and Europe Markets Gain, Gold Retreats To $2,310 Amid Diminished Geopolitical Tensions - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, April 22nd, the U.S. stock markets closed higher, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rebounding after six days of losses. The markets recovered from a recent sell-off as investors looked forward to key quarterly earnings reports, expected to provide insights into the condition of the U.S. economy.

According to economic data, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index rose to +0.15 in March, up from a revised +0.09 the previous month and exceeding market expectations of +0.09.

All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in green, with technology and financial stocks leading the gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.67% to close at 38,239.98. The S&P 500 rose 0.87%, ending the day at 5,010.60, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.11%, finishing the session at 15,451.30.

Asian Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index ended the trading day higher by 0.28% at 37,563.00, led by gains in the Mining, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Warehousing sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.45% to finish at 7,683.50, led by gains in the IT, healthcare, and financials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.14% at 22,368.00, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.38%, closing at 20,652.65.
• China’s Shanghai Composite slid 0.74% to end the session at 3,021.98, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.70%, closing at 3,506.22.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.92%, concluding the day at 16,828.93.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.80%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.82%.
• France’s CAC increased 0.36%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.31%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.04% at $81.94/bbl, and Brent was up 0.09% at $87.08 bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.68% to $2.079.
• Gold was trading lower by 1.56% at $2,309.90, Silver declined 1.85% to $26.740, while Copper was down 1.63% at $4.4023.
• Gold prices declined in Asian trading on Tuesday, continuing profit-taking due to reduced geopolitical concerns in the Middle East and less safe-haven demand, compounded by a stronger dollar and the potential for sustained high U.S. interest rates.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.02%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.07%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 0.14%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.03% to 106.11, USD/JPY was down 0.01% to 154.82, and USD/AUD gained 0.02% to 1.5510.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock