Asian and European markets mixed; U.S. dollar index lower – Global markets today while the U.S. sleeps – SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

U.S. markets closed higher on Wednesday, January 22, with the S&P 500 hitting a record high and Netflix surging after reporting record subscriber numbers and announcing a price increase. Technology stocks led the gains, driven by leaders in artificial intelligence such as Nvidia and Microsoft. Although funding details are unclear, investors are optimistic about President Trump’s private sector artificial intelligence investment plan.

In terms of economic data, U.S. mortgage loan applications increased slightly in the week ended January 17 compared with the previous week.

Most sectors in the S&P 500 fell, but information technology and communications services stocks bucked the trend and closed higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.30% to close at 44,156.73 points; the S&P 500 Index rose 0.61% to close at 6,086.37 points; the Nasdaq Index rose 1.28% to close at 20,009.34 points. The Nasdaq rose 1.28% to close at 20,009.34 points.

Asian Market Today

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed up 0.98% at 40,003.50 points, with precision instruments, communications and non-metallic minerals sectors leading the gains.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.61% to close at 8,378.70 points, with the metals and mining, consumer discretionary and materials sectors leading the decline.
• India’s Nifty 50 index closed up 0.25% at 23,213.75 points; the Nifty 500 index rose 0.65% to close at 21,536.10 points, with consumer durables, real estate and technology sectors rising.
• The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.51% to close at 3,230.16 points; the Shenzhen Composite 300 Index rose 0.18% to close at 3,803.74 points.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed down 0.40% at 19,700.56 points.

Eurozone 05:30 ET

• The Stoxx Europe 50 index fell 0.06%.
• Germany’s DAX index rose 0.24%.
• France CAC rose 0.23%.
• Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.06%.

Commodity trading hours are 05:30 AM ET

• WTI crude oil fell 0.19% to US$75.31/barrel; Brent crude oil fell 0.14% to US$78.91/barrel.
• Oil prices remained steady amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs, energy policy and rising crude inventories.
• Natural gas fell 0.45% to $3.942.
• Gold fell 0.54% to $2,756.10; silver fell 1.00% to $31.105; copper fell 0.42% to $4.2380.

05:30 AM ET U.S. Futures

Dow Jones futures rose 0.05%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.17% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.49%.

Forex trading hours are 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index fell 0.07% to 108.18, USD/JPY fell 0.11% to 156.32, and USD/AUD rose 0.07% to 1.5951.
• The U.S. dollar traded within a narrow range on Thursday, lacking direction amid uncertainty over President Trump’s U.S. tariff announcement.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock