Asia And Europe Markets Slide, Crude Oil Drops On OPEC+ Output Risk - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, May 21, U.S. markets closed lower as rising Treasury yields alarmed investors, driven by fears that Trump’s tax cuts could swell the national debt. All major indexes posted their worst losses in a month. Real estate, healthcare, and tech-led the decline. Weak bond demand and concerns over budget cuts added pressure, while Alphabet rose but Tesla and Apple slipped.

In economic data, U.S. mortgage applications fell by 5.1% for the week ending May 16, marking a drop in activity compared to the previous week.

Most S&P 500 sectors fell, led by real estate, healthcare, and financials, while communication services ended higher.

The Dow fell 1.91% to 41,860.44, the S&P 500 dropped 1.61% to 5,844.61, and the Nasdaq slipped 1.41% to 18,872.64.

Asia Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.92% lower at 36,955.00, led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.45%, ending the session at 8,348.70, led by losses in the IT, Energy, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.83% at 24,605.10, and Nifty 500 fell 0.59% to 22,596.75.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.22% at 3,380.19, and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 slid 0.06% to 3,913.87.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed the session 1.19% lower at 23,544.31.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

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• The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.97%.
• Germany’s DAX index declined 0.79%.
• France’s CAC 40 fell 1.03%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.73%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.40% at $60.71/bbl, and Brent was down 1.40% at $64.00/bbl.
• Oil prices fell as OPEC+ considered a July output hike, raising oversupply fears. U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rose, adding pressure amid weak demand and rising Treasury yields.
• Natural Gas declined 1.01% to $3.334.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.12% at $3,309.20, Silver was down 0.79% to $33.380, and Copper fell 1,15% to $4.6183.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.10%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.18%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.19% to 99.78, USD/JPY was down 0.20% to 143.40, and USD/AUD rose 0.18% to 1.5563.
• The U.S. dollar inched higher but remained under pressure as Trump’s tax bill advanced, raising debt concerns.

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