CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Cautious sentiment prevails in global markets ahead of the crucial job market update due from the U.S. on Friday. The unabated geopolitical tensions also contributed to the markets' unease.
Data to be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to show an addition of 60 thousand to non-farm payrolls in December. November had witnessed an addition of 64 thousand. The unemployment rate which was 4.6 percent in November is however expected to decline to 4.5 percent.
Wall Street Futures are trading in negative territory. Benchmarks in Europe have also declined. Asian markets too finished trading on a mostly negative note.
The six-currency Dollar Index has edged up. Ten-year bond yields are trading in a mixed fashion.
Crude oil prices jumped amidst an unexpected large decline in crude oil inventories in the U.S. Gold prices slipped amidst anxiety ahead of the U.S. jobs data. Cryptocurrencies are trading on a negative note.
Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 48,821.00, down 0.36% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,913.70, down 0.10% Germany's DAX at 25,060.92, down 0.15% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,019.65, down 0.28% France's CAC 40 at 8,222.19, down 0.14% Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,907.56, down 0.27% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 51,117.26, down 1.63% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,720.80, up 0.29% China's Shanghai Composite at 4,082.98, down 0.07% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 26,149.31, down 1.17%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1672, down 0.03% GBP/USD at 1.3440, down 0.15% USD/JPY at 156.74, down 0.01% AUD/USD at 0.6698, down 0.36% USD/CAD at 1.3862, up 0.01% Dollar Index at 98.78, up 0.10%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.163%, up 0.58% Germany at 2.8395%, up 1.12% France at 3.553%, up 0.91% U.K. at 4.4150%, down 0.07% Japan at 2.088%, down 1.32%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Mar) at $60.94, up 1.63%. Crude Oil WTI Futures (Feb) at $56.90, up 1.63%. Gold Futures (Feb) at $4,437.11, down 0.57%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $89,855.18, down 2.25% Ethereum at $3,093.71, down 3.68% XRP at $2.07, down 7.56% BNB at $882.77, down 2.55% Solana at $133.89, down 2.72%
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