Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Up, While Crude Oil Rebounds - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Monday, October 28th, U.S. markets closed higher, driven by anticipation for a wave of earnings reports from major tech companies and relief that energy supplies remained steady despite geopolitical tensions. Key stocks like Alphabet, Meta, and Apple gained ahead of their earnings, with investors focused on AI spending and 2024 capital expenditure plans.

Economic data showed that the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that Texas' manufacturing business activity index improved to -3 in October, up from -9 in September.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed higher, led by gains in financials, materials, and utilities, while tech and energy declined.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.65% to close at 42,387.57, the S&P 500 gained 0.27% to 5,823.52, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.26% and ended the session at 18,567.19.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.60% at 38,882.50, led by gains in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Automobiles & Parts and Precision Instruments sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.34% and ended the day at 8,249.20,  led by gains in the Gold, Consumer Discretionary and IT sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 traded higher by 0.51% at 24,463.75 and Nifty 500 was up 0.65% at 22,796.95.
• China's Shanghai Composite fell 1.08% to close at 3,286.41 and the Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 1.00%, finishing the day at 3,924.65.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.49% and closed the session at 20,701.14.

Eurozone at 05.45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.55%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.53%.
• France's CAC rose 0.74%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.42%.

Commodities at 05.45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.68% at $67.85/bbl, and Brent was up 0.66% at $71.49/bbl.
• Oil prices edged higher after a 6% drop in the previous session, with support from a U.S. plan to purchase oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. However, ongoing concerns about weak demand growth and limited Middle East escalation weighed on prices.
• Natural Gas fell 1.26% at $2.827.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.27% at $2,763.45, Silver rose 0.67% to $34.233, and Copper gained 1.05% to $4.4088.

US Futures at 05.45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.01%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures increased 0.06%.

Forex at 05.45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.07% to 104.23, USD/JPY was up 0.08% at 153.40 and USD/AUD gained 0.15% to 1.5212.
• Asian markets were mixed as investors awaited key U.S. tech earnings and jobs data. The dollar hovered near a three-month high, supported by strong U.S. economic indicators and election expectations. Japanese yen stabilized post-election, while crude prices remained low amid reduced Middle East conflict concerns.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock