Crude And Gold Trade Higher; Major Asia Indexes And Europe Rise - Global Markets Today While US Slept - SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

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On Thursday, April 25th, the U.S. stock markets closed lower, impacted by surprising data indicating sluggish U.S. economic expansion and ongoing inflation. This downturn was exacerbated by a broad sell-off in major stocks following underwhelming earnings from Meta Platforms META.

Related: Meta's Q1 Earnings: Most Analysts Support AI Strategy, While One Says 'Use Meta As A Source Of Funds,' Questions Its Long-Term Value

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, slowing from 3.4% in the previous quarter and falling short of the expected 2.5% growth. 

The core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.7% annually, up from 2% in the previous quarter.

Communications stocks, notably affected by Meta, led losses in the S&P 500, with healthcare, real estate, financials, consumer staples, and consumer discretionary sectors also falling.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.98% to close at 38,085.80. The S&P 500 was down 0.46%, ending the day at 5,048.42, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.64%, finishing the session at 15,611.76.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed higher by 0.84% at 37,943.50, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Transportation Equipment, and Electrical/Machinery sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed the session lower by 1.39% at 7,575.90, led by losses in the Industrials, A-REITs, and Telecoms Services sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 declined 0.67% to close at 22,419.95, and the Nifty 500 slipped 0.14%, closing at 20,839.35.
• China's Shanghai Composite gained 1.17% to end the session at 3,088.64, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 1.53%, closing at 3,584.27.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 2.12%, concluding the day at 17,651.15.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was up 0.69%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.72%.
• France's CAC climbed 0.27%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.41%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.44% at $83.92/bbl, and Brent was up 0.43% at $89.39 bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 1.21% to $1.962.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.73% at $2,359.60, Silver gained 1.18% to $27.675, while Copper was up 1.41% at $4.5815.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET            

Dow futures were up 0.12%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.65%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.92%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.05% to 105.65, USD/JPY was up 0.73% to 156.79, and USD/AUD slipped 0.23% to 1.5305.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock

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