Sentiment remained mixed as markets awaited the outcome of monetary policy reviews by Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Federal Reserve as well as the Bank of England over the course of the next one week. Anxiety ahead of the release of key data including GDP and PCE-based inflation from the U.S. towards the end of the week also swayed sentiment. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech later in the day as well as major earnings updates lined up are also keenly anticipated.
Wall Street Futures are trading directionless. European benchmarks are trading mostly in the red zone, amidst anxiety ahead of the ECB's monetary policy decision. Asian stocks mostly moved higher.
Dollar remained strong, helping the Dollar Index trade firm above the flatline. Bond yields mostly hardened. Crude oil prices dithered after less than expected PMI readings from the Euro Area portended a potential recession and weak oil demand. Gold prices too dropped amidst diplomatic efforts to contain the Middle East conflict, quelling safe haven bids. Cryptocurrencies declined after a massive jump a day earlier. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 33,155.80, up 0.04% S&P 500 (US500) at 4,228.60, down 0.45% Germany's DAX at 14,828.75, down 0.34% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,382.17, down 0.10% France's CAC 40 at 6,865.43, down 0.41%Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,049.35, down 0.39%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 31,269.92, up 0.60% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 6,854.30, down 0.04% China's Shanghai Composite at 2,974.11, up 0.40%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 17,074.00, up 0.44%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.0583, down 0.05%GBP/USD at 1.2136, down 0.19%USD/JPY at 149.89, down 0.01%AUD/USD at 0.6353, down 0.02%USD/CAD at 1.3763, up 0.19% Dollar Index at 106.35, up 0.08% Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.868%, up 0.58% Germany at 2.8425%, up 0.30%France at 3.474%, up 0.38%U.K. at 4.6050%, up 1.43%Japan at 0.849%, down 0.76%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $87.58, down 0.56%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Dec) at $83.22, down 0.62%.Gold Futures (Dec) at $1,982.05, down 0.20%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $33,837.02, down 0.68%Ethereum at $1,765.29, down 2.62%BNB at $224.47, down 1.45% XRP at $0.5423, down 0.05%Solana (SOL) at $30.99, down 1.13%.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.