Asia Gains, France Drags Europe Markets Lower, Dollar Advances - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Friday, June 7th, the U.S. stock markets ended the day lower after a volatile trading session. Stronger-than-anticipated U.S. job figures signaled a robust economy, leading to worries that the Federal Reserve may postpone interest rate cuts, contrary to investor expectations.

According to the economic data, May’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls climbed to 272,000, exceeding the expected 180,000 and surpassing April’s 165,000. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4%, and average hourly earnings increased year-over-year by 4.1%, above the forecasted 3.9%.

The S&P 500 closed slightly lower, dragged down by utilities, materials, and communication services, while financials and technology sectors outperformed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.22% and closed at 38,798.99. The S&P 500 slid 0.11%, ending the day at 5,346.99, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.25%, finishing the session at 17,129.90.

Asian Markets Today

• On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.02%, ending the session at 39,054.50, led by gains in the Steel, Chemical, and Manufacturing sectors.
• Japanese stocks rose after GDP revisions showed a smaller Q1 contraction. This comes ahead of a key Bank of Japan meeting.
• Australia’s Markets closed for the King’s Birthday holiday.
• India’s Nifty 50 declined 0.13% at 23,259.20, while Nifty 500 closed higher by 0.20% at 21,808.25.
• China market is closed for the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 1.45%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 0.93%.
• France’s CAC was down 2.10%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.44%.
• European stocks fell after French President Macron called a snap election following a loss to the far-right, unsettling investors. The CAC 40 hit a three-month low.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.12% at $75.62/bbl, and Brent was up 0.20% at $79.78 bbl.
• Natural Gas gained 2.43% to $2.989.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.51% at $2,313.20, Silver gained 1.29% to $29.820, and Copper was up 0.62% to $4.5115.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.32%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.03%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.21%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.42% to 105.33, USD/JPY was up 0.05% at 156.78, and USD/AUD fell 0.12% to 1.5179.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock