Asia Markets Mixed, Europe Gains, Crude Oil Falls 1.5% – Global Market Overview While The US Slept

On Thursday, February 22nd, U.S. stock markets closed higher, fueled by investors flocking to growth and technology stocks following the impressive earnings and future projections of Nvidia Corporation NVDA.

In economic data, U.S. initial jobless claims dropped to 201,000, beating estimates of 218,000 for the week ending Feb. 17. 

Meanwhile, February’s S&P Global flash manufacturing PMI rose to 51.5 from January’s 50.7, and the services PMI dipped to 51.3 from 52.5.

Related: Nvidia Is Still ‘Stepping On The AI Accelerator’: 7 Analysts Size Up Q4 Results, Supply And Demand Dynamics

All except for one of the 11 key S&P 500 sectors experienced growth, with technology stocks at the forefront; the only sector to decline was utilities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained by 1.18%, closing at 39,069.11, the S&P 500 rose 2.11% to reach 5,087.03, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.96%, concluding the trading day at 16,041.62.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan Markets closed for Emperor’s Birthday Holiday 
• On Friday, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.43% and closed at 7,643.60, led by gains in the IT, Consumer Discretionary and Financials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.02% at 22,212.70, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.15% to 20,313.50. 
• China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.55% to 3,004.88, while the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.09%, closing at 3,489.74.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.10%, concluding the day at 16,725.86.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.11%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.01%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.37%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.01%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.35% at $77.55/bbl, and Brent was down 1.21% at $82.67/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 5.14% to $1.643.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.06% at $2,031.95, Silver slid 0.28% to $22.273, while Copper declined 1.15% to $3.8522.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.03%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 0.13%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.01% to 103.95, USD/JPY was up 0.15% to 150.74, and AUD/USD declined 0.06% to 1.5242.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels