Asia And Europe Markets Mixed, Dollar Pressured Amid Middle East Tensions - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, June 17, U.S. markets closed lower as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, heightening geopolitical tensions and prompting the U.S. to deploy more fighter jets to the region.

Volatility rose, with energy and defense stocks gaining on higher oil prices, while solar stocks plunged following proposed tax credit cuts. Investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

On the economic data front, May retail sales dropped 0.9%, deeper than April’s 0.1% decline and worse than expected. Industrial production slipped 0.2%, missing estimates, while import prices were unchanged and export prices fell 0.9%.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, led by health care, materials, and consumer discretionary. Energy was the lone bright spot. The Dow fell 0.70% to 42,215.80, the S&P 500 lost 0.84% to 5,982.72, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.91% to 19,521.09.

Also Read: Israel Says It Struck Iranian Centrifuge Site, Missile Factories Near Tehran With Over 50 Jets To Disrupt Weapons Program

Asia Markets Today

On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.87% higher at 38,873.00, led by gains in the Real Estate, Banking, and Textile sectors.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.12% at 8,531.20, led by losses in the Gold, Metals & Mining, and Materials sectors.

India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.19% at 24,807.20, and the Nifty 500 declined 0.26% to 22,922.25.

China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.04% at 3,388.81, and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.12% to 3,874.97.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed the session at a 1.12% lower rate of 23,710.69.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.01%.

Germany’s DAX index declined 0.13%.

France’s CAC 40 rose 0.09%.

U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.19%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.13% at $72.45/bbl, and Brent was down 1.10% at $75.61/bbl.

Oil prices dipped Wednesday in Asian trade after a sharp 4% rise as markets balanced Middle East supply risks against the Fed’s looming rate decision.

Natural gas fell 0.68% to $3.826.

Gold traded lower by 0.27% to $3,397.80, Silver rose 0.35% to $37.283, and Copper gained 0.68% to $4.8423.

Gold held steady as safe-haven demand rose amid Middle East tensions and weak U.S. data. Other metals gained on a weaker dollar.

U.S. Futures

At 05:45 AM ET, the Dow Jones futures rose 0.21%, the S&P 500 gained 0.28%, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.36%.

Forex

At 05:45 AM ET, the U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.15% to 98.69, USD/JPY was down 0.21% to 144.93, and USD/AUD declined 0.31% to 1.5392.

On Wednesday, the U.S. dollar slipped against the yen and Swiss franc as Middle East tensions drove demand for safe-haven assets.

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