Global markets mixed; U.S. stocks, Asian markets, FX, metals, oil in focus.
Global stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.3%, the S&P 500 falling 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 0.3%. Earnings season is in full swing, and investors were watching for signs of the U.S.’s future rate path, which tends to influence the direction of gold prices. Most Asian currencies consolidated in the early Asian session amid thin trading due to the Lunar New Year holidays, while oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trade.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 104.40 points, or 0.3%, to 33733.96, after sliding earlier in the morning. The S&P 500 fell 2.86 points, or 0.1%, to 4016.95, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 30.14 points, or 0.3%, to 11334.27. The S&P 500 had gained a decisive 1.2% the day before, to close at its highest since early December. Stocks had also rallied Friday as investors bet that easing inflation would allow the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of its interest-rate rises and potentially even cut rates later this year.
Japanese stocks were slightly down in morning trade, dragged by falls in electronics and tech stocks amid continued uncertainty over the economic and earnings outlook. The Nikkei Stock Average was down 0.1% at 27265.61. South Korea’s benchmark Kospi rose 1.5% to 2431.86 as trading resumed after the Lunar New Year holiday break. Markets in China and Hong Kong are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Most Asian currencies consolidated in the early Asian session amid thin trading due to the Lunar New Year holidays, although they may be weighed by faltering risk sentiment, analysts said. USD/SGD edged 0.1% lower to 1.3183 and USD/MYR fell 0.3% to 4.2725 while USD/JPY was up 0.1% at 130.29. Gold prices were flat early Asian trade, and the front-month contract for WTI futures rose 0.1% to $80.18/bbl, while the front-month Brent crude contract added 0.2% to $86.28/bbl.
In terms of news headlines, the New York Stock Exchange experienced a glitch that caused erroneous prices in hundreds of stocks, Janet Yellen took measures to ease debt-ceiling woes, Australian inflation was fanned by surging travel and electricity costs, U.S. is poised to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine, Microsoft earnings fell amid economic concerns, DOJ sued Google seeking to break up online ad business, and Elon Musk testified in Tesla Tweets trial that he was trying to inform investors.
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