Japan Leads Asia Market Surge, Europe Up, Crude Oil Hovers Near $80 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Thursday, February 29, U.S. stocks, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, hit new highs while global markets rose, following an inflation report that met expectations, resulting in lower Treasury yields.

In economic data, the annual PCE inflation rate dipped to 2.4% in January 2024 from December 2023’s 2.6%. Core PCE inflation, excluding food and energy, slightly fell to 2.8% from December’s 2.9%, matching forecasts. Additionally, U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 13,000, reaching 215,000 for the week ending February 24.

Most S&P 500 sectors finished up, particularly communication, tech, and consumer discretionary stocks, while healthcare and consumer staples declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a modest increase of 0.12%, closing at 38,996.39. The S&P 500 experienced a more significant rise of 0.52%, ending the day at 5,096.27. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 0.90% gain, finishing the session at 16,091.92.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 1.92% at 39,940.00, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Insurance, and Mining sectors.
• The gain was primarily led by technology shares, mirroring gains in U.S. tech stocks, driven by ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence expected to favor chipmakers shortly.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.61% and closed at 7,745.60, led by gains in the Metals & Mining, Materials and IT sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 1.62% at 22,338.75, and the Nifty 500 rose 1.29% to 20,349.80.
• China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.39% to 3,027.02, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.62%, closing at 3,537.80.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.47%, concluding the day at 16,589.44.

Eurozone at 07:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.26%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.63%.
• France’s CAC gained 0.06%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.61%.

Commodities at 07:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.56% at $79.48/bbl, and Brent was down 1.12% at $82.83/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.27% to $1.865.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.49% at $2,064.90, Silver was up 0.02% to $22.890, while Copper was down 0.39% to $3.8320.

US Futures at 07:00 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.09%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.07%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.14%.

Forex at 07:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.02% to 104.13, USD/JPY was up 0.27% to 150.38, and AUD/USD slipped 0.12% to 1.5373.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash