Asia And Europe Markets Dip While Crude Oil Stays Above $81 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, March 22nd, U.S. stock markets closed mixed, as the S&P 500 barely changed but recorded its biggest weekly rise of 2024 after the Fed reiterated its plan for three interest rate cuts by year’s end. The Nasdaq saw slight increases, boosted by sustained excitement over artificial intelligence.

In the latest economic updates, Baker Hughes Inc. announced a decrease of 1 in the total count of active oil rigs in the U.S. last week.

FedEx FDX surged 7.4% after surpassing Wall Street’s profit expectations, while Digital World Acquisition DWAC dropped 13.7% post-approval of its merger with Donald Trump’s tech company.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.77% to close at 39,475.90. The S&P 500 was down 0.14%, ending the day at 5,234.18, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.16%, finishing the session at 16,428.82.

Asian Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session lower by 1.10% at 40,445.50, led by losses in the Shipbuilding, Mining, and Transportation Equipment sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.53% and closed at 7,811.90, led by gains in the A-REITs, Energy and Healthcare sectors.
• India Markets were closed for the Holi holiday.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.71% to 3,026.31, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 0.54%, closing at 3,525.76.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.16%, concluding the day at 16,473.64.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.27%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.10%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.51%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.38%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.86% at $81.35/bbl, and Brent was up 0.81% at $85.52/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 1.16% to $1.791.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.53% at $2,171.40, Silver rose 0.14% to $24.878, and Copper climbed 0.22% at $4.0160.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET       

Dow futures were down 0.22%, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.21%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.30%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.32% to 104.34, USD/JPY was down 0.08% to 151.30, and USD/AUD slid 0.27% to 1.5308.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock