On Tuesday, December 3rd, U.S. markets closed mixed, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching record highs, fueled by gains in the tech, communication services, and consumer discretionary sectors. The Dow finished slightly lower. Investors are awaiting key data, including the monthly employment report and ISM services index.
Federal Reserve officials expressed confidence that inflation is on track to reach the 2% target and highlighted the strength of the job market, though they stopped short of indicating support for another rate cut.
In economic data, job openings increased by 372,000 to 7.744 million in October, up from a revised 7.372 million in September, surpassing market expectations of 7.48 million.
S&P 500 sectors ended lower, with utilities, industrials, and financials suffering the biggest losses, while communication services and information technology stocks closed higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17% and closed at 44,705.53, the S&P 500 gained 0.05% to 6,049.88, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.40% to finish at 19,480.91.
Asia Markets Today
- On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.06% and ended the session at 39,232.00, led by gains in the Banking, Insurance and Transportation Equipment sectors.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.38% and ended the day at 8,462.60, led by losses in the A-REITs, Financials, and Utilities sectors.
- India’s Nifty 50 rose 0.02% to 24,461.60, and the Nifty 500 gained 0.31%, closing at 23,093.30. Gains in the Real Estate, Banking, and Consumer Durables sectors led the gains.
- China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.42% to close at 3,364.65, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 0.54%, finishing the day at 3,930.56.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.02% and closed the session at 19,742.46.
Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET
- The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.43%.
- Germany’s DAX rose 0.77%.
- France’s CAC gained 0.17%.
- U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.41%.
Commodities at 05:30 AM ET
- Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.71% at $70.44/bbl, and Brent was up 0.72% at $74.20/bbl.
- Oil prices saw a slight increase as traders expect OPEC+ to extend supply cuts amid ongoing geopolitical tensions. Geopolitical unrest in the Middle East and South Korea supported the prices.
- Natural Gas slipped 0.66% to $3.022.
- Gold was trading lower by 0.17% at $2,663.69, Silver was down 0.54% to $31.323, and Copper fell 0.27% to $4.1905.
US Futures at 05:30 AM ET
Dow futures were up 0.43%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.21%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.52%.
Forex at 05:30 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index gained 0.13% to 106.50, the USD/JPY rose 0.79% to 150.76, and the USD/AUD rose 1.14% to 1.5594.
Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock
