An unexpected drop in the manufacturing PMI in the U.S and a lesser than expected rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia triggered hopes of a pause in monetary policy tightening, reviving sentiment in world markets.
Asian stocks finished with strong gains. European stocks also rallied. Wall Street also appears set to open with large gains.
The Dollar Index retreated amidst a drop in bond yields. Bond yields eased as hopes of a pause in monetary policy tightening strengthened. Gold surged amidst an unexpected drop in U.S. factory output. Crude prices continued to rise on expectations of a large output cut by the OPEC. Cryptocurrencies rebounded.
Here is a snapshot of the world markets at this hour across stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 29,842.20, up 1.19% S&P 500 (US500) at 3,732.50, up 1.47% Germany's DAX at 12,535.22, up 2.67% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,026.00, up 1.70% France's CAC 40 at 5,967.13, up 2.99% Euro Stoxx 50 at 3,441.45, up 2.97%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 26,992.21, up 2.96%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 6,699.30, up 3.75% China's Shanghai Composite at 3,024.39, down 0.55% (Sep, 30)Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 17,079.51, down 0.83% (Oct, 3)
Currencies:
EURUSD at 0.9868, up 0.45%GBPUSD at 1.1338, up 0.14%USDJPY at 144.77, up 0.17%AUDUSD at 0.6484, down 0.49%USDCAD at 1.3636, up 0.10%Dollar Index at 111.35, down 0.35%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 3.585%, down 1.80% Germany at 1.8075%, down 4.57%France at 2.404%, down 3.47%U.K. at 3.8645%, down 2.12%Japan at 0.216%, down 5.90%
Commodities:
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Nov) at $84.31, up 0.81%Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $89.69, up 0.93%Gold Futures (Dec) at $1,718.15, up 0.95%
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $19,918.70, up 3.70%Ethereum at $1,349.83, up 4.52%BNB at $290.75, up 1.86% XRP at $0.4606, up 4.52%Cardano at $0.4312, up 2.18%
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Forex News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.