Asia Mixed, Europe Slides; Gold Hits $3,300 As Trade War Escalates - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, April 15, U.S. markets closed lower amid ongoing tariff uncertainty and weakness in consumer and healthcare stocks. Gains in Bank of America and Citigroup provided some support, though bank executives warned of risks to consumer spending if trade tensions persist. Boeing fell after China suspended jet deliveries, while the auto and pharmaceutical sectors also came under pressure from new tariff threats.

On the economic front, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index improved to -8.1 in April from -20 in March. Export prices were unchanged in March, while import prices declined by 0.1% following a 0.2% gain in February.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended the day lower, led by losses in consumer-related stocks, though information technology and real estate outperformed, closing higher amid broader market weakness.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.38% to 40,368.96, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17% to 5,396.63, and the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.05% to 16,823.17.

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Asia Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.03% to close at 33,913.00, led by losses in the Paper & Pulp, Transport and Communication sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.04% and closed at 7,758.90, led by losses in the Energy, IT and Healthcare sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.48% at 23,441.20, and Nifty 500 rose 0.61% to 21,408.30.
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.26% to 3,276.00, and Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 increased 0.31% to 3,772.82.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.91% to 21,056.98.
• The Hang Seng index dropped as major Chinese tech firms like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent fell up to 5% after Nvidia warned of a $5.5B hit from new U.S. chip export controls, threatening AI chip access in China.

 Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.79%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.55%.
• France’s CAC 40 fell 0.65%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.47%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.85% at $61.84/bbl, and Brent was up 0.79% at $65.18/bbl.
• Natural Gas fell 2.22% to $3.255.
• Gold was trading higher by 2.44% at $3,319.35, Silver was up 1.96% to $32.930, and Copper fell 0.90% to $4.5840.
• Gold surged to a record high as U.S.-China trade tensions, Nvidia’s warning, and economic uncertainty boosted safe-haven demand and pressured global tech and copper markets.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.01%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.54% and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 1.19%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.54% to 99.63, USD/JPY was down 0.22% to 142.86, and USD/AUD slid 0.945% to 1.5709.
• The dollar fell sharply Wednesday amid renewed trade tensions and investor anxiety over erratic U.S. tariff policy. It hit a 10-year low against the Swiss franc and a seven-month low versus the yen.

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