Asia Mixed, Europe Gains, Crude Oil Jumps 2% On Geopolitical Concerns, Gold Advances - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, October 24th, U.S. markets closed in red as rising Treasury yields weighed on mega-cap stocks and dampened hopes for significant Federal Reserve rate cuts. Corporate news impacted McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, while 10-year U.S. Treasury yields hit a three-month high.

Economic data shows that U.S. existing home sales fell by 1% in September compared to the previous month, bringing the annualized rate to 3.84 million.

S&P 500 sectors closed lower Wednesday, led by losses in consumer discretionary, tech, and communication services, while real estate and utilities ended higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.96% to close at 42,514.95, the S&P 500 slipped 0.92% to 5,797.40, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.60% to finish at 18,276.65

Asia Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.26% at 38,177.50, led by gains in the Transport, Rubber, and Paper & Pulp sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.12% and ended the day at 8,206.30, led by losses in the I.T., Gold and Metals & Mining sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 traded lower by 0.12% at 24,406.45 and Nifty 500 was down 0.22% at 22,790.15.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.68% to close at 3,280.26, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 1.12%, finishing the day at 3,928.83.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.30% and closed the session at 20,489.62.

Eurozone at 05.45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.66%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.47%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.66%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.64%.
• European stock markets edged higher as investors focused on third-quarter earnings and regional economic data. Investors are closely watching eurozone PMI readings amid concerns about growth, with weak data potentially pushing the ECB toward further rate cuts.

Commodities at 05.45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 2.09% at $702.25/bbl, and Brent was up 2.00% at $76.46/bbl.
• Oil prices rose over 2%, recovering from previous losses, as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and reports of North Korean troops aiding Russia in Ukraine kept traders cautious.
• Natural Gas rose 1.54% at $2.378.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.72% at $2,748.95, Silver gained 1.70% to $34.413, and Copper rose 0.96% to $4.3780.

U.S. Futures at 05.45 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.10%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.42%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures increased 0.76%.

Forex at 05.45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index slid 0.25% to 104.19, the USD/JPY was down 0.52% to 151.97, and the USD/AUD declined 0.31% to 1.5028.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock