Asia And Europe Markets Advance, Dollar Ticks Higher And Gold Holds Above $2,540 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, Aug. 29, U.S. stocks closed with mixed results. The Dow reached a record high, fueled by strong economic data showing faster-than-expected growth driven by robust consumer spending, which suggests a recession is unlikely.

In contrast, Nvidia’s shares declined as its outlook, though it met expectations and failed to impress investors.

Economic data showed that U.S. initial jobless claims dropped by 2,000 to 231,000 for the week ending Aug. 24, while the GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.0% in Q2, up from 1.4% in Q1. Additionally, wholesale inventories increased by 0.3% in July, compared to a 0.2% rise in June.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed positively, led by gains in energy, financials, and industrials, while information technology and consumer staples stocks declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.59% and closed at 41,335.05. The S&P 500 ended the day almost flat at 5,592.00, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.23%, finishing at 17,516.43.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.69% at 38,621.00, led by gains in the Manufacturing, Precision Instruments, and Automobiles & Parts sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.58%, ending the session at 8,091.90, led by gains in the Gold, Industrials, and Energy sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 gained 0.33%, closing at 25,235.90, and the Nifty 500 closed higher by 0.44% at 23,734.55.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.68%, ending the session at 2,842.21, and the Shenzhen CSI gained 1.33%, closing at 3,321.43.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 1.14% at 17,989.07.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.18%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.24%.
• France’s CAC was up 0.46%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.34%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.30% at $76.12/bbl, and Brent was up 0.27% at $79.03 bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.19% to $2.133.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.42% at $2,549.80, Silver fell 0.49% to $29.845, and Copper gained 0.78% to $4.2555.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.17%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.35%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.62%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index rose 0.06% to 101.40, the USD/JPY rose 0.21% to 145.30, and the USD/AUD declined 0.01% to 1.4708.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock