Japan’s Nikkei Soars As Asia Markets Gain, Europe Opens Mixed; Gold Hits All Time High Of $2,500 – Global Markets Today While US Slept – SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

On Monday, August 12th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed as investors awaited key U.S. economic data, particularly on consumer prices, to gauge Fed policy. The Dow fell, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained.

Economic data showed that the U.S. government budget deficit rose to $244 billion in July, up from the $220.7 billion deficit recorded in the same month last year.

Most S&P 500 sectors closed lower, led by losses in communication services, real estate, and industrials, while energy and utilities stocks rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% and closed at 39,357.01. The S&P 500 ended the day flat at 5,344.39 while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.21%, finishing the session at 16,780.61.

Asia Markets Today

• On Tuesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed higher by 3.37% at 36,205.00, led by gains in the Banking, Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic and Financial Services sectors.
• Japanese markets climbed significantly, driven by a rebound after last week’s volatility, which was triggered by concerns over a stronger yen and a potential U.S. recession. The positive momentum was supported by investor optimism ahead of the upcoming U.S. inflation data, which is expected to shed light on the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.17%, ending the day at 7,826.80, led by gains in the Gold, Financials, and Consumer Discretionary sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.81% at 24,149.10, and the Nifty 500 declined 0.85%, trading at 22,721.90.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.34%, ending the session at 2,867.95, while the Shenzhen CSI gained 0.26%, closing at 3,334.39.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 0.36% at 17,174.06.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.27%.
• Germany’s DAX rose 0.33%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.04%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.01%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.19% at $79.92/bbl, and Brent was down 0.29% at $82.06 bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.18% to $2.185.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.20% at $2,499.05, Silver slid 0.69% to $27.815, and Copper declined 0.66% to $4.0418.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.26%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.47%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.65%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.06% to 103.20, the USD/JPY was up 0.44% to 147.83, and the USD/AUD declined 0.26% to 1.5144.

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