Asia Mixed, Europe Slips, Gold Near Record High - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, October 21st, U.S. markets closed mixed, with the Dow and S&P 500 declining. This ended a six-week winning streak as rising Treasury yields and high valuations raised investor caution ahead of key earnings reports. Nvidia boosted the Nasdaq, while Tesla and other rate-sensitive tech stocks slipped.

Boeing surged as news emerged that workers might vote on a deal to end a costly five-week strike, while Spirit Airlines soared after securing an agreement to extend its debt refinancing deadline by two months.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed lower on Monday, with real estate, health care, and financials leading the losses. Meanwhile, tech stocks outperformed, finishing higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.80% and closed at 42,931.60. The S&P 500 ended the day lower by 0.18% at 5,853.98, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27%, finishing the session at 18,540.01.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower by 1.60% at 38,405.50, led by 38,405.50, led by losses in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Rubber and Power sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.68% and ended the day at 8,205.70, led by losses in the Healthcare, A-REITs and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 traded lower by 1.25% at 24,472.10, and Nifty 500 was down 1.93% at 22,814.45.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.54% to close at 3,285.87, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.57%, finishing the day at 3,957.78.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.10% and closed the session at 20,498.95.

Eurozone at 06.00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.47%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.22%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.80%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.74%.

Commodities at 06.00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.94% at $70.69/bbl, and Brent was up 0.82% at $74.90/bbl.
• Oil prices steadied as U.S. diplomatic efforts to push for a Middle East ceasefire and weak demand growth in China weighed on the market.
• Natural Gas was up 1.60% at $2.348.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.27% at $2,746.15, Silver rose 0.92% to $34.392, and Copper gained 0.67% to $4.3885.
• Gold prices rose near record highs amid uncertainty about the U.S. election, Middle East tensions, and expected interest rate cuts.

U.S. Futures at 06.00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.47%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.65%.

Forex at 06.00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.02% to 104.00, USD/JPY was down 0.01% at 150.81, and USD/AUD declined 0.39% to 1.4960.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock