World markets reflected a cautious sentiment even as hopes of relaxation in Covid curbs in China and recovery in demand were strengthened. Anxiety regarding the strong payrolls data from the U.S. lingered despite the Fed's stated commitment to soften the interest rate increases.
Asian stocks finished trading on a strongly positive note. European benchmarks are trading mostly lower amidst data that showed a drop in retail sales in the Euro Area. Wall Street Futures have also edged lower.
Dollar Index hovered close to the flatline. Bond yields mostly eased, pricing in the hints in the recent speech by the Fed Chair. Crude oil prices surged after OPEC+ kept output steady. Hopes of recovery in demand from China also supported sentiment. Gold stayed close to the flatline. Cryptocurrencies mostly traded in positive territory. Here is a snapshot of the world markets at this hour across stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 34,285.00, down 0.42% S&P 500 (US500) at 4,054.50, down 0.42% Germany's DAX at 14,453.55, down 0.52% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,573.20, up 0.22% France's CAC 40 at 6,719.58, down 0.34% Euro Stoxx 50 at 3,967.25, down 0.27%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 27,820.40, up 0.15%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 7,325.60, up 0.33% China's Shanghai Composite at 3,211.81, up 1.76% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 19,518.29, up 4.51%
Currencies:
EURUSD at 1.0546, up 0.08%GBPUSD at 1.2269, down 0.14%USDJPY at 135.29, up 0.73%AUDUSD at 0.6809, up 0.29%USDCAD at 1.3420, down 0.36%Dollar Index at 104.48, down 0.07%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 3.515%, up 0.35% Germany at 1.8335%, down 1.16%France at 2.289%, down 0.89%U.K. at 3.1010%, down 1.46%Japan at 0.249%, down 1.00%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Feb) at $87.29, up 2.01%Crude Oil WTI Futures (Jan) at $81.61, up 2.04%Gold Futures (Feb) at $1,810.05, up 0.02%
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $17,301.40, up 1.72%Ethereum at $1,294.48, up 2.90%BNB at $295.37, up 1.56% XRP at $0.3909, up 0.29%Dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.1063, up 1.90%
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Business News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.