China Rallies To 2-Year High, Europe Slips, Dollar Softens - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, October 7th, the U.S. markets closed lower as rising Treasury yields and concerns over the Middle East conflict’s effect on oil prices dampened sentiment. Additionally, regulatory challenges for Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple, along with uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s rate cut decisions, weighed on the market.

Investors are also bracing for Hurricane Milton and awaiting key economic data and earnings reports later this week.

Most S&P 500 sectors fell on Monday, led by consumer discretionary, utilities, and communication services, while energy gained as crude surged on Middle East supply concerns.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.94% and closed at 41,954.24. The S&P 500 ended the day lower by 0.96% at 5,695.94, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.18%, finishing the session at 17,923.90.     

Asian Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed the session lower by 1.26% at 38,907.50, led by losses in the Transportation Equipment, Precision Instruments, and Railway & Bus sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.35% and ended the day at 8,176.90, led by losses in the Metals & Mining, Materials, and Resources sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 traded higher by 0.72% at 24,974.65, and Nifty 500 was up 1.11% at 23,437.75.
• China’s Shanghai Composite surged 4.59% to close at 3,489.78, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 jumped 5.93%, finishing the day at 4,256.10.
• China’s markets initially surged to two-year highs after the National Day holiday but lost steam as investors were disappointed by the lack of substantial new stimulus measures. Despite China expressing confidence in achieving its growth target, the absence of detailed fiscal support dampened market optimism.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 9.41% to close at 20,926.79, marking its sharpest decline since 2008. The fall followed a weeks-long rally as investors grew disappointed by China’s limited stimulus measures. This prompted profit-taking and fund reallocations to mainland markets with more direct government support.        

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 0.74%.
• Germany’s DAX was down 0.34%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.89%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 1.18%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.88% at $75.70/bbl, and Brent was down 1.80% at $79.45/bbl.
• Oil prices declined as fears of supply disruptions from the Middle East subsided. The market remains on edge, awaiting Israel’s response to Iranian missile attacks, but profit-taking and disappointment over China’s modest stimulus measures added pressure.
• Natural Gas was up 0.47% at $2.758.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.29% at $2,676.80, Silver fell 0.62% to $32.193, and Copper slid 0.33% to $4.5585.

US Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.20%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.44%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index fell 0.16% to 102.37, the USD/JPY was down 0.21% to 147.87, and the USD/AUD gained 0.44% to 1.4876.
• The dollar retreated from seven-week highs as investors recalibrated expectations for U.S. rate cuts, even as ongoing Middle East tensions supported its safe-haven appeal.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock