On Tuesday, January 7th, U.S. markets closed lower as strong economic data fueled fears of prolonged inflation, delaying Federal Reserve rate cuts. Rising job openings and services activity drove benchmark 10-year Treasury yields to 4.699%, the highest since April. Markets now expect the Fed to hold rates through 2025.

Economic data showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to $78.2 billion in November, up from a revised $73.6 billion in October and aligning with market expectations. Imports grew by 3.4% to $351.6 billion, while exports increased by 2.7% to $273.4 billion.

Most S&P 500 sectors fell, led by losses in consumer discretionary, communication services, and tech stocks, while energy and health care gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.42% and closed at 42,528.36, the S&P 500 closed lower by 1.11% at 5,909.00, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.89% to finish at 19,489.68.

Asia Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed lower by 0.27% at 39,970.50, led by losses in the Power, Transportation Equipment, and Warehousing sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.77%, ending the session at 8,349.10, led by gains in the Gold, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.14% at 23,674.75, and Nifty 500 slid 0.56%, closing at 22,216.45, led by losses in the Consumer Durables, Capital Goods and Power sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.02% and closed at 3,230.17, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 0.18% and finished the day at 3,789.22.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed the session lower by 0.86% at 19,279.84.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was up 0.32%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.49%.
• France's CAC rose 0.05%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index traded higher at 0.23%.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.71% at $74.78/bbl, and Brent was up 0.40% at $77.35/bbl.
• Oil prices rose as tighter supplies from Russia and OPEC, falling U.S. crude stocks and strong economic data boosted the demand outlook.
• Natural Gas gained 4.81% to $3.616.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.11% at $2,668.94, Silver was up 0.51% to $30.843, and Copper rose 0.27% to $4.2073.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.27%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.30%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.32%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index rose 0.24% to 108.95, the USD/JPY rose 0.18% to 158.33, and the USD/AUD gained 0.32% to 1.6101.
• The dollar strengthened, driven by strong U.S. economic data, rising bond yields, and diminished expectations of Fed rate cuts.

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