Euphoria that gripped world markets following the lower-than-expected inflation readings from the U.S. continued for the second day. Markets hope the recent price indicators would allow the Fed to go slow on its rate hikes, providing much needed respite. Relaxations in Covid curbs by China also added to the positive sentiment. Uncertainty surrounding the mid-term elections in the U.S. and the growth contraction reported from U.K. did not materially alter the buoyant market sentiment.
Asian stocks finished on a strong positive note. European benchmarks too are trading mostly higher. Wall Street futures too imply strong opening.
Dollar weakened, dragging the Dollar Index lower. Bond yields moved mixed. Crude prices surged following an easing in China's Covid curbs. Gold surged ahead. Cryptocurrencies rebounded emphatically.
Here is a snapshot of the world markets at this hour across stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 33,831.30, up 0.34% S&P 500 (US500) at 3,969.80, up 0.34% Germany's DAX at 14,191.50, up 0.32% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,363.95, down 0.15% France's CAC 40 at 6,583.30, up 0.40% Euro Stoxx 50 at 3,865.75, up 0.50%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 28,263.57, up 2.98%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 7,158.00, up 2.79% China's Shanghai Composite at 3,087.29, up 1.69% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 17,325.66, up 7.74%
Currencies:
EURUSD at 1.0259, up 0.49%GBPUSD at 1.1745, up 0.27%USDJPY at 139.51, down 1.02%AUDUSD at 0.6662, up 0.68%USDCAD at 1.3312, down 0.05%Dollar Index at 107.22, down 0.91%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 3.811%, down 0.48% Germany at 2.051%, up 2.35%France at 2.558%, up 2.46%U.K. at 3.3530%, up 2.01%Japan at 0.234%, down 2.71%
Commodities:
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Dec) at $89.38, up 3.37%Brent Oil Futures (Jan) at $96.53, up 3.05%Gold Futures (Dec) at $1,769.45, up 0.90%
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $17,377.60, up 4.13%Ethereum at $1,279.27, up 6.72%BNB at $296.04, up 6.81% XRP at $0.3917, up 8.11%Cardano (ADA) at $0.3618, up 2.65%
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Business News
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.