Asia And Europe Rise, Crude Oil Hovers Around $78 While Gold Rises – Global Market Overview While The US Slept

On Monday, February 26th, U.S. stock markets closed in red, turning attention from the previous week’s AI-driven surge to upcoming economic indicators.

Economic indicators showed a 0.3% drop in U.S. building permits to 1.489 million in January, while new single-family home sales rose by 1.5% to an annualized rate of 661,000.

The S&P 500 saw most sectors end lower, especially utilities, communication services, and real estate, while energy and consumer discretionary stocks outperformed, closing higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.16%, closing at 39,069.23, the S&P 500 fell 0.38% to reach 5,069.53, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.13%, concluding the trading day at 15,976.25.

Investors await economic updates on durable goods, housing, and consumer confidence.

Asian Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 0.17% at 39,275.00, led by gains in the Shipbuilding, Pharmaceutical Industry and Transport sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.13% and closed at 7,663.00, led by gains in the Consumer Staples, IT and Energy sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.34% at 22,198.35, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.18% to 20,292.85.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.29% to 3,015.48, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 was up 1.20%, closing at 3,494.79.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.94%, concluding the day at 16,790.80.
• Hong Kong’s Chinese EV stocks soared Tuesday, led by Li Auto’s near 20% jump after surpassing Q4 expectations, marking its peak since August 2023.

Eurozone at 07:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.37%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.70%.
• France’s CAC rose by 0.22%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.04%.

Commodities at 07:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.22% at $77.41/bbl, and Brent was down 0.45% at $81.30/bbl.
• Natural Gas fell 0.92% to $1.728.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.44% at $2,047.80, Silver gained 0.50% to $22.850, while Copper rose 0.48% to $3.8528.

US Futures at 07:15 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.06%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.29%.

Forex at 07:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.12% to 103.70, USD/JPY was Down 0.24% to 150.36, and AUD/USD fell 0.10% to 1.5275.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels