Asian Up, Europe Mixed; Oil Advances And Gold Steady Near All Time High - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, August 14th, U.S. stock markets closed higher, as the S&P 500 extended its winning streak to five sessions, supported by inflation data hinting at potential Federal Reserve rate cuts, while the Nasdaq also gained slightly despite tech stock pressures and subdued trading due to August vacations.

According to economic data, the July 2024 headline CPI inflation dropped to 2.9% year-over-year, down from 3% in June, slightly below the 3% consensus forecast. On a monthly basis, inflation rose by 0.2% in July, recovering from the previous month’s 0.1% decline and aligning with estimates of 0.2%.

Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed on a positive note, with financials, information technology, and energy stocks recording the biggest gain, while communication services and consumer discretionary stocks closed lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.61% and closed at 40,008.39. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 0.38% at 5,455.21, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.03%, finishing the session at 17,192.60.

Asian Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.75% at 36,702.50, led by gains in the Banking, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Financial Services sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.19%, ending the day at 7,865.50, led by gains in the Telecoms Services, Industrials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors,     
• India markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.94%, ending the session at 2,877.36, while the Shenzhen CSI gained 0.99%, closing at 3,341.95.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session lower by 0.02% at 17,109.14.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.22%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.40%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.02%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.06%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.75% at $77.56/bbl, and Brent was up 0.80% at $80.39 bbl.
• Oil prices steadied Thursday as hopes for U.S. rate cuts boosting fuel demand were balanced by concerns over weaker global demand, unexpected U.S. crude inventory gains, and China’s slowing economic recovery.
• Natural Gas rose 0.45% to $2.229.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.69% at $2,496.70, Silver gained 2.91% to $28.135, and Copper rose 1.59% to $4.1043.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.23%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.27%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.01% to 102.5, the USD/JPY was up 0.02% to 147.35, and the USD/AUD declined 0.49% to 1.5084.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock