Asia Mixed, Europe Markets Down, Gold Nears $2,750 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, October 18th, U.S. markets closed higher, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq hitting record highs. Strong Netflix earnings and broader gains in tech stocks boosted these indexes. All three indexes marked their sixth straight weekly gain. Key tech stocks, including Apple and Nvidia, contributed to the rally.

In economic news, U.S. housing stats dropped by 0.5% in September, reaching an annualized rate of 1.354 million units. Additionally, building permits decreased by 2.9%, falling to an annual rate of 1.428 million for the month.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed positively on Friday, led by utilities, communication services, and real estate, while energy stocks declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09% and closed at 43,275.91. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 0.40% at 5,864.67, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.63%, finishing the session at 18,489.55.

Asia Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.11% at 39,030.00, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Pharmaceutical Industry, and Transportation Equipment sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.74% and ended the day at 8,344.40, led by gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Resources sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 traded lower by 0.45% at 24,741.55 and Nifty 500 was down 0.90% at 23,229.55.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.20% to close at 3,268.11, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.25%, finishing the day at 3,935.20.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.57% and closed the session at 20,478.46.

Eurozone at 06.00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.50%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.51%.
• France’s CAC fell 0.54%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.07%.

Commodities at 06.00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.66% at $69.84/bbl, and Brent was up 1.40% at $74.08/bbl.
• Oil prices dropped 7% last week due to concerns over China’s slowing demand and easing Middle East supply risks.
• Natural Gas was up 1.33% at $2.288.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.63% at $2,747.15, Silver rose 2.89% to $34.197, and Copper gained 0.87% to $4.4228.

U.S. Futures at 06.00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.09%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.29%.

Forex at 06.00 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index rose 0.18% to 103.68, the USD/JPY rose 0.36% at 150.06, and the USD/AUD gained 0.39% to 1.4970.
• The U.S. dollar strengthened, buoyed by slower expected rate cuts and rising confidence in Trump’s election chances.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock