Asia Mixed, European Markets Rally, While Gold Hits $2,400 Again - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, July 11th, the U.S. stock markets closed mixed. The Nasdaq ended sharply lower, with Nvidia, Apple, and Tesla falling as investors shifted to smaller companies following softer inflation data, which increased expectations of a September Fed rate cut.

According to economic data, the U.S. Consumer Price Index slowed more than anticipated in June. Year-over-year, headline CPI inflation decreased from 3.3% in May 2024 to 3% in June 2024, falling short of the 3.1% forecasted by economists.

All sectors of the S&P 500 closed positively, with real estate, utilities, and materials leading gains, while IT and communication services stocks fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.08% and closed at 39,753.75. The S&P 500 declined 0.88%, ending the day at 5,584.54, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.92%, finishing the session at 18,288.62.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.46%, ending the session at 41,236.50. Losses in the Shipbuilding, Paper and pulp, and Machinery sectors led to the decline.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed lower by 0.88%, ending the day at 7,959.30, led by gains in the Gold, A-REITs, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.77% at 24,502.15, and Nifty 500 rose 0.39% to 23,095.45.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.03%, ending the session at 2,971.29, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 0.12%, closing at 3,472.40.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session with a 2.59% increase, at 18,293.38.
• Most Asian stocks fell on Friday, with technology-heavy indexes experiencing significant losses due to profit-taking. Despite softer U.S. inflation data boosting hopes for rate cuts, regional stocks followed Wall Street’s overnight decline, with Japan’s Nikkei slumping significantly.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.43%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.22%.
• France’s CAC was up 0.59%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.22%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.14% at $83.56/bbl, and Brent was up 0.89% at $86.16 bbl.
• Oil prices rose due to signs of easing U.S. inflation, boosting hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Brent crude reached a peak but was still set for a weekly decline. Investor confidence grew as lower rates could increase fuel consumption.
• Natural Gas gained 0.04% to $2.269.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.47% at $2,410.45, Silver declined 1.94% to $31.058, and Copper rose 0.51% to $4.5300.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.08%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.03%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.07% to 104.36. USD/JPY was up 0.25% at 159.19, and USD/AUD slid 0.20% to 1.4767.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock