CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Wall Street welcomed August on a positive note as sentiment in global markets improved amidst easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Markets cheered the massive plunge in crude oil prices and the easing concerns about fuel-led inflation.
Wall Street Futures are trading way above the flatline. Major benchmarks in Europe are also trading in mostly positive territory. Earlier in the day, major Asian markets finished trading on a mixed note. South Korea's KOSPI benchmark plunged more than 5 percent. Samsung and SK Hynix, both slipped close to 9 percent.
Dollar Index has declined mildly while government intervention boosted the Japanese yen. Bond yields mostly eased as inflation concerns eased.
Crude oil prices plunged heavily amidst optimism surrounding a potential agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Gold has also slipped around half a percent. Cryptocurrencies are trading on a mostly negative note.
Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 53,213.10, up 1.39% S&P 500 (US500) at 7,559.90, up 0.94% Germany's DAX at 26,043.68, up 1.61% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,847.94, down 0.19% France's CAC 40 at 8,622.99, up 1.33% Euro Stoxx 50 at 6,423.90, up 1.04% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 63,754.90, down 0.94% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 9,019.30, up 0.47% China's Shanghai Composite at 3,809.66, down 0.59% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 26,009.40, up 0.48% South Korea's KOSPI at 6,257.45, down 5.12%
Currencies:
Dollar Index at 99.75, down 0.16% EUR/USD at 1.1527, down 0.01% GBP/USD at 1.3451, down 0.23% USD/JPY at 156.44, down 0.72% USD/CHF at 0.8094, up 0.22% AUD/USD at 0.6988, down 0.50%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.694%, down 1.07% Germany at 3.1472%, down 1.75% France at 3.932%, down 1.60% U.K. at 4.9699%, down 1.63% Japan at 2.824%, up 1.18%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Oct) at $82.77, down 5.87% Crude Oil WTI Futures (Sep) at $78.55, down 7.23% Gold Futures (Dec) at $4,088.55, down 0.45% Silver Futures (Sep) at $57.10, down 1.19%
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $62,740.35, down 0.37% Ethereum at $1,845.26, down 0.38% BNB at $584.90, up 0.57% XRP at $1.06, down 0.97% Solana at $72.62, down 0.20%
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