Asia Markets Advance, Europe Edges Lower And Gold Clocks New High At $2,630 – Global Markets Overview

On Thursday, September 19, U.S. markets closed higher following the Federal Reserve’s 50-basis-point rate cut, which also signaled potential further reductions.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell downplayed recession risks, while analysts remained hopeful for a soft landing amid inflation control efforts. Tesla, Apple, Meta, and Nvidia saw gains, supported by better-than-expected jobless claims and renewed market optimism.

According to economic data, the U.S. reported a Q2 current account deficit of $266.8 billion, exceeding estimates of $260 billion. Initial jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 219,000 for the week ending September 14, beating expectations of 230,000.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed positively, led by consumer discretionary, communication services, and information technology stocks. However, consumer staples and utilities stocks diverged, closing the session lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.26% and closed at 42,025.19. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 1.70% at 5,713.64, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.51%, finishing the session at 18,013.98.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed the session higher by 1.67% at 37,739.50, led by gains in the Automobiles & Parts, Power and Rubber sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 ended the day higher by 0.21% at 8,209.50, led by gains in the Consumer Discretionary, Gold, and IT sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 1.58% to 25,816.85, while the Nifty 500 rose 1.55% to 24,223.10.
• China’s Shanghai Composite closed higher by 0.03% at 2,736.81, and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.16%, ending the day at 3,201.05.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.36%, ending the day at 18,258.57.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 0.91%.
• Germany’s DAX was down 0.98%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.89%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.74%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.82% at $70.58/bbl, and Brent was down 0.81% at $74.28/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 0.21% at $2.343.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.74% at $2,633.50, Silver gained 0.32% to $31.523, and Copper rose 0.33% to $4.3615.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.01%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.39%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index rose 0.16% to 100.78, the USD/JPY rose 0.88% to 143.88, and the USD/AUD gained 0.08% to 1.4688.
• Global stocks neared record highs, fueled by the Fed’s rate cut, while the yen weakened after Japan’s central bank held rates. European stocks fell, and U.S. markets remained optimistic. Gold hit a record, and oil posted weekly gains.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock