Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

Wednesday, July 26, the U.S. markets closed mixed after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 25 basis points, taking rates to a target range of 5.25% to 5.5%. 

In his opening remarks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged the extensive progress made yet highlighted that the full impact of policy tightening is yet to be experienced. The Federal Reserve will maintain a data-dependent approach moving forward, he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 0.23% at 35,520.12 on Wednesday; the S&P 500 closed 0.02% lower at 4,566.75; and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.12% to 14,127.28.

The gains were led by the Financials, Industrials, and Consumer Goods sectors, while losses in the Technology, Basic Materials, and Oil & Gas sectors led stocks lower.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 ended Thursday's session up 0.82% at 32,920.00, recoding gains in the Paper & Pulp, Steel, and Pharmaceutical Industry sectors. USD/JPY was down 0.17% to 139.97 at 04.30 AM ET.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.73%, ending the session at 7,455.90, reflecting gains in the A-REITs, IT, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. AUD/USD was up 0.84% to 0.6813 at 04.30 AM ET.
• Shanghai Composite closed the session at 3,216.67, down 0.20%; Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 0.12% to 3,902.35.
• Hang Seng index in Hong Kong rose 1.45%, closing the session at 19,666.50. 

Eurozone at 04:30 AM ET

• The Pan-European STOXX 600 index is up 0.98%. The DAX index in Germany traded 0.97% higher, and the CAC 40 in France surged 1.36%.
• The European Central Bank's policy meeting is later in the day.
• The UK..'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.32% after investors digested the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement and the flood of earnings.

Commodities at 04:40 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.81% at $79.42/bbl, and Brent was up 0.61% to $83.06/bbl.
• Natural Gas was trading lower by 0.97% at $2.666.
• Gold was trading up 0.34% at $1,976.80, Silver rose 0.74% to $25.155, and Copper was up 0.51% to $3.922.

US Futures at 04:30 AM ET

• Dow futures were up 0.15%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.57%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.19%.

US Dollar Index at 04:30 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.22% to 100.67.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons