Crude Oil Drops 5% On Demand Concerns, Asia And Europe Markets Mixed - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, October 14th, U.S. markets closed higher as the S&P 500 and Dow reached new record highs. Semiconductors led the rally, with Arm Holdings and Nvidia rising.

Despite lower trading volume due to a federal holiday, the market gained momentum from positive third-quarter earnings reports from major banks.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed higher, led by gains in tech, real estate, and utilities, while energy stocks declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.47% and closed at 43,065.22. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 0.77% at 5,859.85, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.87%, finishing the session at 18,502.69.     

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.87% at 39,950.50, led by gains in the Shipbuilding, Retail, and Transportation Equipment sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.79% and ended the day at 8,318.40, led by gains in the Financials, Gold, and Industrials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was trading lower by 0.30% at 25,053.05, while the Nifty 500 was up 0.04% at 23,737.20.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 2.53% to close at 3,201.29, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 2.66%, finishing the day at 3,855.99.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 3.67% and closed the session at 20,318.79.
• China plans to raise 6 trillion yuan ($850 billion) through special bonds to stimulate its economy, but investor sentiment remains muted. Despite hopes for near-term growth stabilization, concerns persist over long-term challenges, including weak consumption and trade tensions.

Eurozone at 05.45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.37%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.31%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.73%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.36%.

Commodities at 05.45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 5.13% at $70.04/bbl, and Brent was down 4.97% at $73.61/bbl.
• Oil prices dropped to a near two-week low, driven by a weaker demand outlook and reports that Israel may avoid striking Iranian oil facilities, easing fears of supply disruptions.
• Natural Gas was down 1.36% at $2.460.
• Gold was trading up 0.23% at $2,671.85, Silver rose 0226% to $31.382, and Copper declined 1.32% to $4.3477.

U.S. Futures at 05.45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.12%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.18%.

Forex at 05.45 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index slid 0.19% to 103.10, the USD/JPY was down 0.59% to 148.87, and the USD/AUD gained 0.15% to 1.4892.
• The U.S. dollar stayed near $103, driven by expectations of slower Federal Reserve rate cuts. Resilient economic data and higher-than-expected inflation led traders to reduce their bets on aggressive cuts.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock