On Tuesday, August 13th, U.S. stock markets climbed to nearly a two-week high, driven by softer producer prices that heightened expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September.
Investors are now focused on key consumer price data sets and retail sales figures, which could reinforce the likelihood of a more aggressive rate cut by the Fed.
In economic data, U.S. producer prices increased by 0.1% in July month-over-month, down from a 0.2% rise in June and below market expectations of 0.2%.
The majority of sectors on the S&P 500 closed higher, led by gains in communication services, tech, and consumer discretionary stocks, while energy stocks ended lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.04% and closed at 39,765.64. The S&P 500 ended the day higher by 1.68% at 5,434.43, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.43%, finishing the session at 17,187.61.
Asian Markets Today
- On Wednesday, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.54% at 36,427.50, led by gains in the Banking, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Financial Services sectors.
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.31%, ending the day at 7,850.70, led by gains in the Healthcare, IT, and A-REITs sectors.
- India's Nifty 50 was up 0.02% at 24,143.20, while Nifty 500 declined 0.14%, closing at 22,674.75.
- China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.60%, ending the session at 2,850.65, while the Shenzhen CSI declined 0.75%, closing at 3,309.24.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the session lower by 0.35% at 17,113.36.
Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET
- The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.32%.
- Germany's DAX rose 0.36%.
- France's CAC was up 0.36%.
- U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.38%.
Commodities at 06:00 AM ET
- Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.08% at $78.42/bbl, and Brent was up 0.20% at $80.84 bbl.
- Natural Gas rose 0.42% to $2.157.
- Gold was trading higher by 0.15% at $2,511.60, Silver gained 0.58% to $27.948, and Copper rose 0.44% to $4.0693.
US Futures at 06:00 AM ET
Dow futures were up 0.04%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.01%.
Forex at 06:00 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.09% to 102.46, USD/JPY was up 0.19% at 147.09, and USD/AUD gained 0.05% to 1.5082.
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