Asia And Europe Markets Advance; Gold Up On Softer Dollar - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, May 1st, U.S. markets closed higher, with the Dow and S&P 500 extending their winning streak as strong earnings from Microsoft and Meta boosted confidence. Microsoft jumped on cloud growth optimism, briefly surpassing Apple as the most valuable company, while Meta stock gained on strong ad results. Positive earnings helped ease concerns over AI spending and tariffs.

In economic data, U.S. construction spending fell 0.5% in March to $2,196.1 billion. The ISM manufacturing PMI slipped to 48.7 in April, above estimates of 48. Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to 241,000, exceeding the expected 224,000.

Most S&P 500 sectors rose Thursday, led by gains in tech, communication services, and consumer discretionary, while healthcare and staples fell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.21% to 40,752.96, the S&P 500 gained 0.63% to 5,604.14, while the Nasdaq gained 1.52% to 17,710.74.

Asia Markets Today

• On Thursday, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed higher by 0.98% at 36,809.00, led by gains in the Real Estate, Banking, and Textile sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.13%, ending the session at 8,238.00, led by gains in the Energy, Healthcare, and Consumer Staples sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 was up 0.20% at 24,384.40, and Nifty 500 rose 0.05% to 22,040.70.
• China markets closed for the Labour Day holiday.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed the session 1.74% higher at 22,504.68.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 1.30%.
• Germany's DAX index gained 1.57%.
• France's CAC 40 slid 1.44%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.71%.
• European stocks surged Friday on hopes of U.S.-China trade talks, strong corporate earnings, and improving manufacturing data, while oil prices edged higher after a tough week.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.81% at $58.76/bbl, and Brent was down 0.76% at $61.66/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.92% to $3.447.
• Gold was trading higher by 1.60% at $3,273.96, Silver was up 0.88% to $32.478, and Copper rose 1.36% to $4.6903.
• Gold rose in Asia as the dollar dipped ahead of U.S. payroll data, though gains were capped by China's trade talk signals. Gold faces a weekly loss after recent declines.

U.S. Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.39%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.15%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

• The U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.51% to 99.68, USD/JPY was down 0.62% to 144.56, and USD/AUD declined 0.90% to 1.5525.
• The dollar slipped Friday on easing trade tensions but remained on track for a weekly gain as markets awaited U.S. jobs data.

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