Asia And Europe Markets Dip, Gold Holds Steady Above $2K - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Friday, December 15th, U.S. stock markets ended mixed following a week marked by significant central bank policy announcements and important economic data.

In economic data, December's NY Empire State Manufacturing Index hit a four-month low at -14.5, while U.S. industrial production rose 0.2% in November after October's revised 0.9% decrease.

The three indexes recorded their seventh straight weekly gains, the longest streak for the S&P 500 since September 2017.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.15% to 37,305.16, the S&P 500 inched slightly lower by 0.01% to 4,719.19, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35%, ending the session at 14,813.92.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed Monday's session lower by 0.64% at 32,758.98, led by losses in the Food, Insurance and Pharmaceutical Industry sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.22%, ending at 7,426.40, led by losses in the A-REITs, Utilities, and Consumer Staples sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite declined 0.40% to 2,930.80, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 0.36%, closing at 3,329.37.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.92%, concluding the day at 16,635.00.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.35%.
• Germany's DAX slid 0.31%.
• France's CAC declined 0.28%.
• The UK's FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.53%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.70% at $71.28/bbl, and Brent was down by 0.67% at $76.04/bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 2.65% to $2.557.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.03% at $2,036.30, Silver decreased by 0.16% to $24.115, and Copper slid by 0.41% to $3.8747.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.19%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.16%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.0.%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.02% to 102.53, USD/JPY went up 0.42% to 142.72, and AUD/USD slid 0.22% to 1.4892.