Asia Markets Mixed; Europe Rallies After US Fed Interest Rate Decision; Crude Up 1% - Global Markets Today While Us Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, November 1st, U.S. stock markets closed higher after interest rates were left unchanged for a second consecutive time.

Investor optimism surged as U.S. Federal Reserve officials suggested that interest rate hikes might be over, even though rates remained steady and the door was left open for potential increases in the future.

In economic data, U.S. private firms added 113,000 workers in October, missing the 150,000 forecast but improving from September's 89,000. Meanwhile, the ISM manufacturing PMI dipped to 46.7, below the anticipated 49 and last month's figure.

Within the S&P 500, only the energy and consumer staples sectors experienced declines, whereas the information technology and communications services sectors led the gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.67% to 33,274.58, the S&P 500 increased by 1.05% to 4,237.86, and the Nasdaq Composite saw a 1.64% gain, ending the session at 13,061.47.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.20% higher at 31,949.89 on Thursday, led by gains in the Warehousing, Finance & Investment and Transportation Equipment sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.90%, closing the session at 6,899.70, led by gains in the IT, A-REITs and Telecoms Services sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.45% to close the session at 3,009.41, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 0.47%, closing at 3,554.19.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.91% and closed at 17,239.00.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 1.42%
• Germany's DAX gained 1.51%. 
• France's CAC climbed 1.59%.
• European stocks rose with gains in real estate and tech on hopes that the U.S. might halt monetary tightening after the Fed kept rates steady.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.14%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.86% at $81.13/bbl, and Brent was up by 1.39% at $85.83/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 1.60% to $3.438.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.37% at $1994.95, Silver rose 1.64% to $22.163, and Copper was up 0.42% to $3.6647.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.27%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.48%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.74%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.66% to 106.19. USD/JPY was down 0.37% to 150.38, and AUD/USD slid 0.66% to 1.5538.