On Thursday, June 20, U.S. stock markets closed mixed as Nvidia retreated from earlier gains, and investors evaluated economic data and Federal Reserve comments for clues on potential interest-rate cuts.

According to the economic data, U.S. jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 238,000 in the week ending June 15, slightly above expectations. The four-week moving average rose to 232,750, the highest since September 2023. In May 2024, housing stats dropped 5.5% to 1.27 million, below forecasts, and building permits fell 3.8% to 1.386 million.

The Philadelphia Fed’s general activity index fell to 1.3 in June, with employment levels continuing to decline despite a slight rise in the employment index.

Energy and utilities were the top performers among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, while technology experienced the largest decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.77% and closed at 39,134.76. The S&P 500 declined 0.25%, ending the day at 5,473.17, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.81%, finishing the session at 17,717.90.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.07%, ending the session at 38,621.00, led by losses in the Shipbuilding, Railway & Bus and Steel sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed higher at 0.34%, ending the day at 7,796.00, led by gains in the Gold, Utilities, and Energy sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.28% at 23,501.10, and Nifty 500 fell 0.31% at 22,236.20.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.24%, ending the session at 2,998.14, and the Shenzhen CSI fell 0.22%, closing at 3,495.62.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session lower by 1.53% at 18,053.96.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 0.79%.
• Germany’s DAX fell 0.47%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.60%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.93%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.04% at $81.26/bbl, and Brent was down 0.06% at $85.66 bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 1.93% to $2.687.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.27% at $2,375.60, Silver fell 1.22% to $30.448, and Copper was down 1.59% to $4.4895.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.15%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures declined 0.08%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.13% to 105.72, USD/JPY was up 0.03% at 158.95, and USD/AUD rose 0.13% to 1.5043.

The U.S. dollar remains strong due to a relatively hawkish Fed, despite weak housing and labor market data. The Fed is cautious about cutting rates, reducing its forecast for this year from three to one.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash