Gold Clocks New High At $2,415, Asia Markets Sans Japan Dip, Europe Gains – Global Markets Today While US Slept – SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

On Thursday, April 11th, the U.S. stock markets ended mostly higher, led by tech momentum stocks amid signs of cooling inflation. The Nasdaq gained from interest-rate-sensitive tech giants, while the S&P 500 saw gains, and the Dow remained nearly flat.

According to the economic data, U.S. producer prices increased by 0.2% in March, below February’s 0.6% rise and expectations of 0.3%. Initial jobless claims dropped to 211,000 last week, beating estimates of 215,000.

Wednesday’s higher-than-anticipated CPI data caused a significant drop in stocks. They pushed Treasury yields to a peak not seen since November, tempering expectations for up to three central bank rate cuts by year-end, possibly beginning in June.

Technology led the way in the S&P 500’s 11 key sectors, while financial stocks trailed behind.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.01% to close at 38,459.08. The S&P 500 gained 0.74%, ending the day at 5,199.06, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.68%, finishing the session at 16,442.20.

 Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index concluded the trading day higher by 0.31% at 39,567.00, led by gains in the Gas & Water, Power, and Construction sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.33% to finish at 7,788.10, led by losses in the Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, and A-REITs sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 1.03% at 22,519.40, and the Nifty 500 slid 0.81% to 20,745.50.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.49% to end the session at 3,019.47, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 slipped 0.81%, closing at 3,475.84. 
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.18%, concluding the day at 16,721.69.  

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.80%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.92%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.90%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 1.27%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.3% at $86.13/bbl, and Brent was up 1.02% at $90.79 bbl.
• Natural Gas was up 0.23% at $1.763.
• Gold was trading higher by 1.75% at $2,414.80, Silver gained 3.39% to $29.220, while Copper was up 2.23% at $4.3480.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.03%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.18%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.35%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index gained 0.51% to 105.81, the USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 153.35, and the USD/AUD rose 0.61 % to 1.5389.

Aleksandar Grozdanovski photo via Shutterstock