Benzinga – by Akanksha Bakshi, Benzinga Editor.
On Friday, May 17th, U.S. stock markets closed mixed, with the Dow Jones surpassing 40,000 for the first time and significant indexes posting weekly gains. Market performance was bolstered by data supporting anticipated Fed rate cuts.
The S&P 500 edged higher while the Nasdaq fell, but both achieved a fourth consecutive week of gains. The Dow closed with its fifth straight week of advances.
On Friday, Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) rose 10% after partnering with OpenAI to integrate its content with ChatGPT. GameStop (NYSE:GME) fell nearly 20% after announcing a mixed-shelf offering and expecting lower first-quarter net sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34% and closed at 40,003.59. The S&P 500 gained 0.12%, ending the day at 5,303.27, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.07%, finishing the session at 16,685.97.
Asia Markets Today
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.83% on Monday, ending the session at 39,088.50. Expectations of U.S. rate cuts following a milder inflation report boosted global markets and Wall Street, aiding Japanese equities.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed higher by 0.63% at 7,863.70, driven by rising commodity prices. Casino operator Star led gains after confirming a takeover approach from Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos.
- India markets closed for the Election Day holiday.
- China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.54%, ending the session at 3,171.15, and the Shenzhen CSI rose 0.35%, closing at 3,690.96.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session higher by 0.42% at 19,636.22.
Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET
- The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.17%.
- Germany’s DAX gained 0.37%.
- France’s CAC rose 0.37%.
- U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.24%.
Commodities at 06:00 AM ET
- Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.30% at $79.34/bbl, and Brent was down 0.24% at $83.78 bbl.
- Oil prices rose on Monday due to political uncertainty after Iran’s president died in a helicopter crash and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince canceled a trip to Japan due to the king’s health issues.
- Natural Gas gained 0.50% to $2.641.
- Gold was trading higher by 1.17% at $2,445.80, Silver rose 3.39% to $32.318, and Copper increased 0.94% to $5.0970.
- World shares, gold, and Copper began the week near record highs, driven by investor optimism from slower inflation, economic growth, and China’s property crisis efforts.
US Futures at 06:00 AM ET
Dow futures were up 0.02%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.19%.
Forex at 06:00 AM ET
The U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.04% to 104.49, USD/JPY was up 0.04% at 155.72, and USD/AUD declined 0.01% to 1.4938.
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