Asia and Europe Markets Advance; Crude Oil Back Near $80 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, May 3rd, U.S. stock markets surged, with a softer jobs report reinforcing the argument for Federal Reserve rate cuts while highlighting the strength of the U.S. economy. The Nasdaq led the advance after Apple’s record share buyback announcement.

In economic data, U.S. employers added 175,000 nonfarm payrolls in April, down from 315,000 in March and below the expected 238,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.9%, and average hourly earnings slipped to 3.9%, falling more than the anticipated 4%.

Ten of the 11 primary sectors in the S&P 500 finished the session positively, with only energy lagging. Technology achieved the highest percentage gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18% to close at 38,675.68. The S&P 500 was up 1.26%, ending the day at 5,127.79, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.99%, finishing the session at 16,156.33.

­Asian Markets Today

• Japan Market closed for the Children’s Day holiday.
• On Monday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.70% at 7,682.40, led by gains in the A-REITs, Utilities, and Financials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.15% at 22,442.70, and Nifty 500 was trading lower by 0.45% at 20,864.95.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.16% to end the session at 3,140.72, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 1.48%, closing at 3,657.88.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.55%, concluding the day at 18,578.30.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.70%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.89%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.67%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.51%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.11% at $78.98/bbl, and Brent was up 0.88% at $83.69 bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.56% to $2.154.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.94% at $2,330.10, Silver rose 2.74% to $27.420, while Copper was up 1.82% at $4.6200.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET                       

Dow futures were up 0.21%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.26%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.25%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.03% to 105.07, the USD/JPY rose 0.49% to 153.70, and the USD/AUD fell 0.11% to 1.5088.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock