Japan's Market Hits 34-Year High, Europe Mostly In Green; Crude Oil At $72.50 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, January 10th, U.S. stock markets closed on a positive note, led by a rally in major stocks, with investors cautious ahead of upcoming inflation reports and major bank earnings.

In economic data, November's U.S. wholesale inventories saw a slight decrease of 0.2% month-over-month, showing a smaller decline than the revised 0.3% decrease observed in the previous month.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended higher, led by gains in communication services and information technology sectors, while energy stocks fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.45%, closing at 37,695.73. The S&P 500 was up 0.57% to 4,783.45, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.75%, ending the trading session at 14,969.65.

Asian Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed at a remarkable 34-year high, rising by 1.77% to end at 35,049.86. 
• Strong performances in the Precision Instruments, Transportation Equipment, and Services sectors primarily drove this significant growth. The weakening of the yen played a key role in this surge, particularly benefiting technology shares and boosting investor confidence. 
• Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.50%, ending at 7,506.00, led by gains in the IT, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.13% at 21,647.20, and Nifty 500 rose 0.34% to 19,584.35. 
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.31% to 2,886.65, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.57%, closing at 3,295.67.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.26%, concluding the day at 16,287.00.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.16%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.18%.
• France's CAC was up 0.16%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.10%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.63% at $72.53/bbl, and Brent was up 1.54% at $77.99/bbl.
• Natural Gas fell 2.24% to $2.970.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.45% at $2,036.90, Silver gained 0.46% to $23.172, and Copper rose 0.56% to $3.8022.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET            

Dow futures were down 0.03%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.07%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.32%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.02% to 102.37, USD/JPY was down 0.17% to 145.48, and AUD/USD declined 0.12% to 1.4908.

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