Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Gains While Crude Oil Dips Below $70 - Global Markets Today While Us Was Sleeping

On Tuesday, December 12th, U.S. stock markets closed on a high post-inflation data, ahead of the Fed's policy decision.

In economic data, November's consumer price index increased by 0.1%, while the annual increase stood at 3.1%, slightly down from October's 3.2% rate.

S&P 500 sectors mostly ended higher, led by information technology and financials, while energy and utilities fell, diverging from the market trend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.48% to 36,577.94, the S&P 500 gained 0.46% to 4,643.70, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.70%, ending the session at 14,533.40.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Wednesday's trading session higher by 0.25% at 32,926.35, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Electrical/Machinery, and Paper & Pulp sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.31%, ending at 7,257.80, led by gains in the Healthcare, A-REITs and Financials sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite declined 1.15% to 2,968.76, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 1.67%, closing at 3,369.60.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.94%, concluding the day at 16,247.00.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell almost 1% due to losses in mainland stocks and concerns over China's deepening disinflation and potential economic slowdown, despite officials proposing more stimulus measures.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.15%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.02%.
• France's CAC rose 0.21%.
• The UK's FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.31%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.41% at $69.13/bbl, and Brent was up by 0.19% at $73.38/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.04% to $2.312.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.24% at $1998.05, Silver declined 0.14% to $22.983, and Copper slid 0.42% to $3.7717.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.12%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.13%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.24%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.11% to 103.98. USD/JPY gained 0.19% to 145.69, and AUD/USD was up 0.09% to 1.5257.