Asia Ex-India Fall On China Stimulus Concerns, Europe Up; Dollar Gains - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, December 12th, U.S. markets closed lower as investors assessed economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting. Mixed signals from rising producer prices and climbing unemployment claims fueled uncertainty about inflation and the Fed’s rate cut trajectory, prompting profit-taking after recent market highs.

In economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims climbed to 242,000 in early December, surpassing market expectations of 220,000, signaling potential labor market softening. Meanwhile, core producer prices increased by 0.2% month-over-month in November.

The majority of S&P 500 sectors fell, led by losses in healthcare, consumer discretionary, and communication services, while consumer staples gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.53% and closed at 43,914.12, the S&P 500 declined 0.54% to 6,051.25, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.66% to finish at 19,902.84.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.02% and ended the session at 39,490.50, led by losses in the Shipbuilding, Paper & Pulp, and Finance & Investment sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.41% and ended the day at 8,296.00, led by losses in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.96% to 24,783.30, and the Nifty 500 was up 0.47%, closing at 23,365.45. Gains in the Technology, Consumer Durables, and Banking sectors led the index.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 2.01% to close at 3,391.88, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 2.37%, finishing the day at 3,933.18.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.09% and closed the session at 19,971.24.
• Asian markets dropped Friday as China’s lack of detailed stimulus measures disappointed investors.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.29%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.31%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.19%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.02%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.91% at $70.64/bbl, and Brent was up 0.84% at $74.00/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 0.46% to $3.472.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.75% at $2,689.01, Silver was down 0.96% to $31.317, and Copper fell 0.35% to $4.2300.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.23%, S&P 500 futures were up 0.32%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.65%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.02% to 106.98, USD/JPY was up 0.54% at 153.45, and USD/AUD slid 0.01% to 1.5703.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock