Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Falls On Auto Tariff Concerns And Gold Hits All-Time High - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, March 27th, U.S. markets closed in red amid market jitters over President Trump’s proposed 25% tariff on imported cars, hitting automakers like GM and Ford hard. Tesla and Apple saw slight gains. Investors remain cautious due to Trump’s unpredictable trade stance. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are heading toward negative Q1 finishes in 2025.

In economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims dipped to 224,000 last week, slightly below expectations. Q4 GDP was revised to 2.4% from 2.3%, while February wholesale inventories rose 0.3% to $903 billion, down from January’s 0.8% increase.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended lower, led by declines in energy, communication services, and tech. Healthcare and consumer staples were the exceptions, finishing the day in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.37% at 42,299.70, the S&P 500 slid 0.33% to 5,693.31, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.53% to 17,804.03.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed the session lower by 1.99% at 37,049.50, led by losses in the Shipbuilding, Manufacturing, and Services sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.16% and closed at 7,982.00, led by gains in the Gold, Consumer Staples and Energy sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 slid 0.28% to 23,526.95, and Nifty 500 was down 0.27% at 21,350.25.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.67% to 3,351.31, and the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 0.44% to 3,915.17.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.76%, ending the session at 23,400.24.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.53%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.66%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.53%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.01%.
• European shares declined Friday amid rising trade war concerns, with the STOXX 600 and Germany’s DAX lower.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.16% at $70.03/bbl, and Brent was up 0.07% at $73.38/bbl.
• Natural Gas fell 0.61% to $3.901.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.71% at $3,113.10, Silver was up 0.87% to $35.388, and Copper slid 0.14% to $5.1125.
• Gold hit a record high Friday as safe-haven demand surged following Trump’s auto tariffs and rising geopolitical tensions. Investors await key PCE inflation data, which could influence Fed rate expectations.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.11%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.21% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.36%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.12% to 104.38, USD/JPY was down 0.26% to 150.64, and USD/AUD gained 0.12% to 1.5881.

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