China Markets Plunge, Europe Edges Higher, Crude Oil Maintains Premium After Selloff - Global Markets Today While Us Slept

On Tuesday, October 8th, U.S. markets closed in green as investors bought into technology stocks, benefiting from a slight easing in Treasury yields, which reduced concerns about rising borrowing costs.

According to economic data, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 91.5 in September from 91.2 in August, below the expected 91.7. Meanwhile, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $70.4 billion in August, the lowest in five months, from $78.9 billion in July.

Most S&P sectors gained, led by consumer discretionary, information technology, and communication services, while the materials sector declined as metal prices fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.30% and closed at 42,080.37. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 0.97% at 5,751.13, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.45%, finishing the session at 18,182.92.     

Asian Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed the session higher by 1.01% at 39,299.50, led by gains in the Banking, Insurance and Finance & Investment sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.13% and ended the day at 8,187.40, led by gains in the IT, Telecoms Services and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was trading lower by 0.03% at 25,005.90, while the Nifty 500 was up 0.44% at 23,615.55.
• China’s Shanghai Composite plunged 6.62% to close at 3,258.86, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 7.05%, finishing the day at 3,955.98.
• Chinese and Hong Kong stocks tumbled Wednesday as investors took profits from a recent rally, disappointed by the lack of new stimulus measures. Key indexes in China posted their largest daily losses since 2020, with property and tourism stocks among the biggest losers.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.38% to close at 20,637.24.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.02%.
• Germany’s DAX was up 0.11%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.12%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.52%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.88% at $74.19/bbl, and Brent was up 0.79% at $77.80/bbl.
• Despite weak demand expectations, oil prices ticked higher, fueled by Middle East tensions and anticipation of China’s fiscal policy updates. Brent and WTI futures rebounded after a sharp decline as investors remained cautious about regional escalations and potential impacts on oil demand.
• Natural Gas was down 1.13% at $2.702.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.03% at $2,636.05, Silver gained 0.99% to $30.913, and Copper slid 0.53% to $4.4330.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.07%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.10%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.18%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.08% to 102.62, the USD/JPY rose 0.32% to 148.66, and the USD/AUD gained 0.21% to 1.4848.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock