China Gains 1%, Europe Markets Dip, And Gold Inches Toward $2,400 Again - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, May 16th, U.S. stock markets closed in the red as investors adjusted their rate-cut expectations following data showing a slowdown in inflation and strong corporate earnings. Early gains faded, resulting in modest declines across the three major indexes.

In economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 222,000 for the week ending May 11, slightly above the 220,000 expected. April’s industrial production remained flat, following a 0.1% increase in March.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with consumer staples being the only sector to gain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.10% and closed at 39,869.38. The S&P 500 declined 0.21%, ending the day at 5,297.10, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.26%, finishing the session at 16,698.32.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.40%, ending the session at 38,766.50, led by losses in the Power, Retail, and Real Estate sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed lower by 0.85% at 7,814.40, led by losses in the IT, Healthcare, and A-REITs sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 was up 0.27% at 22,464.95, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.65% at 21,062.95.
• China's Shanghai Composite was up 1.01%, ending the session at 3,154.03, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 1.03%, closing at 3,677.97.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 0.91% at 19,553.61.
• China and Hong Kong stocks rose after the central bank announced measures to boost the property market, including lower mortgage down payments and removing the floor on minimum mortgage interest rates.
• Industrial production exceeded expectations in April, but retail sales and fixed asset investment significantly missed forecasts.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.34%.
• Germany's DAX declined 0.24%.
• France's CAC fell 0.41%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.35%.

Commodities at 05:45AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.11% at $79.14/bbl, and Brent was down 0.01% at $83.26 bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.60% to $2.513.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.11% at $2,388.30, Silver rose 0.23% to $29.95, and Copper increased 1.24% to $4.9380.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET                       

Dow futures were down 0.36%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.01%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.27% to 104.74, USD/JPY was up 0.29% at 155.82, and USD/AUD gained 0.36% to 1.5028.

Photo via Shutterstock