Benzinga - by Akanksha Bakshi, Benzinga Editor.
On Wednesday, May 1st, the U.S. stock markets closed mixed after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and hinted at a possible future rate cut, though it noted that inflation improvements are uncertain.
Related: Powell Keeps Hawks At Bay, Says Interest Rate Hike ‘Unlikely’: Stocks, Gold Rally, While Treasury Yields, Dollar Tumble
According to economic data, U.S. private employers added 192,000 jobs in April, exceeding expectations but lower than March’s 208,000. The ISM manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2, indicating a contraction.
Mortgage applications declined by 2.3%, and job openings decreased to 8.488 million. In contrast, crude oil inventories experienced a significant increase, rising by over 7 million barrels.
Among the 11 key sectors of the S&P 500, energy stocks experienced the biggest percentage drop, whereas utilities saw the highest gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.23% to close at 37,903.29. The S&P 500 was down 0.34%, ending the day at 5,018.39, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.33%, finishing the session at 15,605.48.
Asian Markets Today
- On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed lower by 0.10% at 38,210.50, led by losses in the Marine Transport, Glass and Steel sectors.
- In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.23% at 7,587.00, led by gains in the Gold, IT and Financials sectors.
- India’s Nifty 50 was up 0.16% at 22,640.45, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.40% at 21,082.20.
- China Market is closed for the Labor Day holiday.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 2.50%, concluding the day at 18,207.13.
- Hong Kong shares of major Chinese electric vehicle makers, including Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO), surged on Thursday after strong April delivery numbers.
- The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.56%.
- Germany’s DAX declined 0.04%.
- France’s CAC slid 0.91%.
- U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.29%.
- Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.87% at $79.69/bbl, and Brent was up 0.96% at $84.24 bbl.
- Natural Gas gained 2.11% to $1.973.
- Gold was trading lower by 0.01% at $2,310.80, Silver slid 0.45% to $26.628, while Copper was down 0.36% at $4.5297.
Dow futures were up 0.34%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.57%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.80%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
The U.S. dollar index gained 0.03% to 105.79 USD/JPY, which was up 0.51% at 155.26, and the USD/AUD fell 0.12% to 1.5313.
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