On Friday, December 20, US markets closed in the green, recouping mid-week losses, as softer inflation data and more dovish Federal Reserve comments eased concerns over interest rates. All major indices rose, supported by real estate and small-cap stocks. However, markets ended the week lower, ending a multi-week streak of gains amid continued economic uncertainty.
From an economic perspective, the U.S. PCE price index rose 0.1% in November, below expectations of 0.2%. Michigan consumer confidence rose to 74 in December, its highest level since April, up from 71.8 in November.
All sectors of the S&P 500 closed in the green, supported by notable gains in utilities, real estate and information technology.
The Dow rose 1.18% to close at 42,840.26, the S&P 500 closed 1.09% higher at 5,930.85, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03% to finish at 19,572.60.
Asian markets today
- On Monday, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.16% and closed the session at 39,172.50, supported by gains in the glass, chemicals, oil and plastics and real estate sectors.
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.67% and closed the day at 8,201.60, supported by gains in the financial services, consumer discretionary and A-REITs sectors.
- India's Nifty 50 index rose 0.66% to 23,743.90, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.37% to close at 22,412.30, supported by gains in real estate, banking and oil and gas.
- China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.50% to close at 3,351.26, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.15% to end the day at 3,933.57.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.82% and closed the session at 19,883.13.
Eurozone at 6:00 a.m. (ET)
- The European STOXX 50 index fell 0.19%.
- The German DAX lost 0.21%.
- The French CAC 40 fell 0.02%.
- The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.09%.
Raw materials at 6:00 a.m. (ET)
- WTI crude oil was trading 0.30% lower at $69.25 per barrel, and Brent was down 0.32% at $72.31 per barrel.
- Natural gas rose 1.64% to $3.466.
- Gold was down 0.41% at $2,633.99, silver was up 0.62% at $30.135 and 0.50% at $4.1250.
U.S. stock futures at 6:00 a.m. ET
Dow futures fell 0.05%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.10% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.26%.
Forex at 6:00 a.m. ET
- The US dollar index rose 0.45% to 108.10, the US dollar rose 0.26% to 156.82, and the Australian dollar rose 0.11% to 1.5999.
- The U.S. dollar stalled near a two-year low, supported by subdued inflation data and Federal Reserve forecasts pointing to a measured pace of rate cuts.
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