Asia Mixed, Europe Markets Gain While Gold And Dollar Dip - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, November 22, U.S. markets closed higher, with all major indexes recording weekly gains. Optimism was driven by robust U.S. business activity and expectations of interest rate cuts.

However, tech faced pressure as Alphabet fell amid antitrust scrutiny, and Nvidia slipped following a cautious forecast. Investors also weighed geopolitical tensions, including Ukraine-Russia conflicts, and anticipated key developments, such as Trump’s Treasury Secretary selection.

According to economic data, the S&P Global U.S. Services PMI rose to 57 in November from 55, while Manufacturing PMI edged up to 48.8 from 48.5. However, U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to 71.8, down from a preliminary 73 reading.

Industrials, financials, and consumer discretionary stocks led S&P 500 gains Friday, while utilities and communication services lagged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.97% and closed at 44,296.51, the S&P 500 gained 0.35% to 5,969.30, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.16% to finish at 19,003.65.

Asia Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.08% and ended the session at 38,735.00, led by gains in the Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic, Mining and Textile sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.28% and ended the day at 8,417.60, led by gains in the A-REITs, Healthcare, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 1.32% to 24,221.90, and Nifty 500 gained 1.58%, closing at 22,576.60, led by gains in the Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, and Public Sector Undertakings sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.10% to close at 3,263.76, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.46%, finishing the day at 3,848.09.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.41% and closed the session at 19,150.99.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.35%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.45%.
• France’s CAC gained 0.12%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.12%

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.42% at $70.94/bbl, and Brent was down 0.40% at $74.32/bbl.
• Oil prices steadied after last week’s 6% gains, driven by geopolitical tensions involving Russia and Iran. Markets await the OPEC+ meeting and rising Chinese crude demand, while potential U.S. sanctions on Iran threaten supply disruptions.
• Natural Gas rose 3.99% to $3.418.
• Gold was trading lower by 1.21% at $2,703.90, Silver was down 1.56% to $31.282, and Copper gained 0.67% to $4.1612.

U.S. Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures gained 0.68%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.51% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.61%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.55% to 106.97, the USD/JPY was down 0.23% to 154.38, and the USD/AUD rose 0.39% to 1.5355.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock