Fedspeak, China Stimulus, Middle East Tensions Sway Markets

Lingering anxiety ahead of speeches by Fed officials, stimulus measures rolled out by China as well as simmering tensions in the Middle East swayed market sentiment across asset classes and regions.

Wall Street Futures have edged up. European benchmarks are trading on a positive note. Asian markets were bolstered by Chinese stimulus measures.

Dollar Index is close to the flatline. Bond yields mostly hardened. Stimulus measures from China as well as tensions in the Middle East boosted crude oil prices in a big way. Gold scaled fresh peaks again. Top-ranked cryptocurrencies are trading in a mixed fashion.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 42,187.40, up 0.15%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,728.10, up 0.17%
Germany’s DAX at 18,985.75, up 0.84%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 8,291.34, up 0.38%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,626.93, up 1.58%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,945.75, up 1.23%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 38,007.00, up 0.75%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 8,142.00, down 0.13%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 2,863.13, up 4.15%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 19,000.56, up 4.13%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.1133, up 0.19%
GBP/USD at 1.3371, up 0.19%
USD/JPY at 143.99, up 0.27%
AUD/USD at 0.6848, up 0.15%
USD/CAD at 1.3510, down 0.22%
Dollar Index at 100.82, down 0.03%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 3.790%, up 1.35%
Germany at 2.1715%, down 0.07%
France at 2.952%, up 0.00%
U.K. at 4.0110%, up 2.19%
Japan at 0.825%, up 1.85%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $74.85, up 2.24%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Nov) at $72.27, up 2.70%.
Gold Futures (Dec) at $2,659.80, up 0.28%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $63,618.28, up 0.08%
Ethereum at $2,647.76, down 0.10%
BNB at $604.02, up 2.14%
Solana at $146.70, up 1.80%
XRP at $0.5893, up 0.46%.