Japan's Nikkei Soars As Asia Markets Gain, Europe Opens Mixed; Gold Hits All Time High Of $2,500 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, August 12th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed as investors awaited key U.S. economic data, particularly on consumer prices, to gauge Fed policy. The Dow fell, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained.

Economic data showed that the U.S. government budget deficit rose to $244 billion in July, up from the $220.7 billion deficit recorded in the same month last year.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed lower, led by losses in communication services, real estate, and industrials, while energy and utilities stocks rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% and closed at 39,357.01. The S&P 500 ended the day flat at 5,344.39 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21%, finishing the session at 16,780.61.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 3.37% at 36,205.00, led by gains in the Banking, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Financial Services sectors.
• Japanese markets climbed significantly, driven by a rebound after last week’s volatility, which was triggered by concerns over a stronger yen and a potential U.S. recession. The positive momentum was supported by investor optimism ahead of the upcoming U.S. inflation data, which is expected to shed light on the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.17%, ending the day at 7,826.80, led by gains in the Gold, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.81% at 24,149.10, and the Nifty 500 declined 0.85%, trading at 22,721.90.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.34%, ending the session at 2,867.95, while the Shenzhen CSI gained 0.26%, closing at 3,334.39.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 0.36% at 17,174.06.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.27%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.33%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.04%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.01%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.19% at $79.92/bbl, and Brent was down 0.29% at $82.06 bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.18% to $2.185.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.20% at $2,499.05, Silver slid 0.69% to $27.815, and Copper declined 0.66% to $4.0418.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.26%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.47%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.65%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.06% to 103.20, the USD/JPY was up 0.44% to 147.83, and the USD/AUD declined 0.26% to 1.5144.

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