On Tuesday, December 17, U.S. markets closed lower, with the Dow marking its longest losing streak since 1978. Bitcoin hit record highs, and Treasury yields steadied as investors awaited a “hawkish cut” from the Fed.

Strong U.S. retail sales highlighted economic resilience, contrasting with weaker Chinese data, while key central banks prepared for rate decisions amid inflation concerns.

In economic data, U.S. retail sales rose 0.7% in November, beating expectations of 0.5%, while industrial production fell 0.1%, improving from October’s 0.4% decline but missing forecasts of a 0.2% gain.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed lower, led by losses in industrials, energy, and financials. However, consumer discretionary stocks outperformed, ending the session in positive territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.61% and closed at 43,449.90, the S&P 500 closed lower by 0.39% at 6,050.61, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.32% to finish at 20,109.06.

Asia Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.73% and ended the session at 39,120.50, led by losses in the Marine Transport, Insurance, and Railway & Bus sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.06% and ended the day at 8,309.40, led by losses in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Gold sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 slid 0.50% to 24,213.40, and Nifty 500 was down 0.66%, closing at 22,943.80.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.62% to close at 3,382.21, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.51%, finishing the day at 3,941.89.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.83% and closed the session at 19,864.55.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.29%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.24%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.29%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.18%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.10% at $70.15/bbl, and Brent was up 0.66% at $73.67/bbl.
• Oil prices increased as investors stayed cautious of a potential Federal Reserve rate cut. A draw in U.S. crude inventories supported the market, while Fed policy decisions and geopolitical tensions added uncertainty.
• Natural Gas rose 0.63% to $3.329.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.07% at $2,663.64, Silver was down 0.07% to $30.898, and Copper gained 0.14% to $4.1520.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.24%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.28% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.25%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.04% to 107.00, USD/JPY rose 0.10% at 153.62, and USD/AUD rose 0.44% to 1.5850.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock