Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, November 22:
1. U.S. Markets Celebrate Thanksgiving
U.S. financial markets are closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
The New York Stock Exchange will be shut, while Friday will be a half-session day.
Fixed-income markets will also be closed.
Meanwhile, the CME Group’s Globex, which operates options and futures exchanges, will have only partial disruptions to its normal schedule. According to the company, its crude oil and energy markets will close at 1:00PM ET.
Other global markets will operate on a normal schedule.
Currency markets are also operating as usual, though volumes will be lighter than normal.
2. Global Stocks Decline as Growth Fears Hit Sentiment
World stocks were dragged lower, as worries about slowing global growth kept buyers on the sidelines.
Asian stock markets closed mostly in negative territory, with Chinese markets leading losses, amid concern over the ongoing trade spat between Beijing and Washington.
Tensions between the two countries have dominated headlines this year, with both sides imposing tit-for-tat tariffs on each other's products.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the upcoming G-20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month.
Elsewhere, European markets were under pressure, with most sectors trading in the red by 5:25AM ET (1025GMT).
Italian banks were among the worst performers amid growing worries over the outlook for the country's finances.
3. Oil Prices Slide Back Towards 13-Month Lows
In commodities, oil prices sank towards their lowest level in more than a year, amid signs of swelling U.S. inventories and growing concerns that demand might weaken on the prospect of a global economic slowdown.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 4.9 million barrels to 446.91 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a weekly report on Wednesday. That was the highest level since December last year.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 54 cents, or roughly 1%, to $54.09 a barrel, back within distance of a 13-month low touched earlier this week.
International Brent crude oil futures declined 42 cents, or about 0.7%, to $63.06 per barrel, not far from its lowest level since December 2017.
4. Dollar Slips in Quiet Trade
In currency markets, the dollar edged lower for a second consecutive day, amid fresh uncertainty over the pace of future U.S. interest rate hikes.
Reports on Wednesday said the Federal Reserve could pause its rate hike cycle as early as next spring. The U.S. central bank is widely expected to raise rates for a fourth time this year at its December meeting.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.3% to 96.28.
Elsewhere, the British pound was sharply higher, with GBP/USD jumping more than 1% to 1.2910, buoyed by positive developments in Brexit negotiations.
The euro was also a touch higher against the U.S. currency, with EUR/USD gaining around 0.4% to 1.1427.
5. Bitcoin Resumes Slide as Cryptos Drop
Bitcoin resumed its downwards trend, sliding back towards the lowest level in more than a year.
Bitcoin, the world's most valuable digital currency, was down around 3% at $4,557.70. It fell to its weakest level since October 2017 at $4,272.30 earlier in the week.
Other cryptocurrencies were also lower in Thanksgiving Day trade.
XRP, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading at $0.44232, down roughly 3.5% for the day
Meanwhile, Ethereum, the third largest coin, sank 4.5% to $134.12.
Other major digital currencies like Stellar, Litecoin, and Cardano also suffered losses.