Asia Markets Up, Europe Dips, While Crude Hovers Around $80, Gold $2,100 - Global Markets Today While Us Was Sleeping

On Friday, March 1st, U.S. markets closed in green, driven by falling Treasury yields and a spike in chip stocks led by Nvidia NVDA, as recent tech earnings highlight growing demand for artificial intelligence.

In economic data, the ISM manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.8 in February from 49.1, missing expectations of 49.5. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment in the U.S. decreased to 76.9 from an initial estimate of 79.6 and January’s 79.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended higher, especially energy, IT, and real estate stocks, while utilities and financials fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.23% to close at 39,087.38. The S&P 500 gained 0.80%, ending the day at 5,137.08. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 1.14% gain, finishing the session at 16,274.94.

Asian Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 0.45% at 40,087.07, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Banking sectors.
• The Nikkei share average soared to a record high of 40,109.23, driven by corporate governance reforms, solid valuations, and a tech shares rally, mirroring U.S. market trends.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.13% and closed at 7,735.80, led by losses in the Metals & Mining, Healthcare, and Utilities sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.12% at 22,405.60, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.05% to 20,432.05.
• China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.41% to 3,039.31, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 0.09%, closing at 3,540.87.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.04%, concluding the day at 16,595.97.

Eurozone at 06:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.16%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.16%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.06%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.50%.

Commodities at 06:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.39% at $79.64/bbl, and Brent was down 0.29% at $83.31/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 6.16% to $1.948.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.21% at $2,091.15, Silver was down 0.12% to $23.337, while Copper gained 0.34% to $3.8747.

US Futures at 06:30 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.27%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.10%.

Forex at 06:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.02% to 103.84, USD/JPY was up 0.22% to 150.44, and AUD/USD rose 0.08% to 1.5333.

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