Benzinga - by Akanksha Bakshi, Benzinga Editor.
On Wednesday, April 17, the U.S. stock markets ended lower amid dropping oil prices, cautious Federal Reserve comments, and geopolitical tensions despite mixed earnings. Tech stocks led the Nasdaq lower.
Economic data showed that U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 2.735 million barrels for the week ending April 12, a decrease from the 5.841 million barrel rise observed the week before.
Most S&P 500 sectors fell, with the largest declines in tech, real estate, and consumer discretionary, while utilities and consumer staples rose.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.12% to close at 37,753.31. The S&P 500 fell 0.58%, ending the day at 5,022.21, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.15%, finishing the session at 15,683.37.
Asian Markets Today
- On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index finished the trading day higher by 0.14% at 38,054.50, led by gains in the Transportation Equipment, Pharmaceutical Industry, and Marine Transport sectors.
- In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.48% to finish at 7,642.10, led by gains in the Metals & Mining, IT and Materials sectors.
- India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.69% at 21,995.85, and the Nifty 500 fell 0.48%, closing at 20,324.70.
- China’s Shanghai Composite index gained 0.09% to end the session at 3,074.22, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 0.12%, closing at 3,569.80.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.82%, concluding the day at 16,385.87.
The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.29%.
Germany’s DAX declined 0.16%.
France’s CAC climbed 0.31%.
U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.20%.
Commodities at 06:15 AM ET
- Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.01% at $81.32/bbl, and Brent was down 0.95% at $86.46 bbl.
- Oil prices fell as investors reacted to potential avoidance of Middle East conflict and demand worries, alongside hopes for moderated Israeli retaliation against Iran.
- Natural Gas was up 2.69% at $1.758.
- Gold was trading higher by 0.23% at $2,393.85, Silver rose 0.46% to $28.532, and Copper was up 1.75% at $4.4150.
Dow futures were up 0.17%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 0.23%.
Forex at 06:15 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index slid 0.05% to 105.91, USD/JPY was up 0.04% to 154.44, and USD/AUD slipped 0.14% to 1.5518.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock
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