Anxiety about monetary policy outlook was back in focus as markets brace for a slew of central bank decisions. The Fed's interest rate review is due on Wednesday whereas Bank of England and ECB would announce decisions on Thursday. The consumer price as well as producer price inflation readings due from the U.S. before the Fed's monetary policy decision has also added to the anxiety.
Wall Street Futures reveal mild losses. European benchmarks are trading in a mixed pattern. Asian stocks finished trading on a mostly positive note.
Dollar Index edged up. Bond yields moved mixed. A weak demand outlook dragged down crude oil prices. Gold traded lower amidst waning optimism about early rate cuts by the Fed. Cryptocurrencies declined.
Here is a glimpse of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 36,227.00, down 0.06% S&P 500 (US500) at 4,598.50, down 0.13% Germany's DAX at 16,752.22, down 0.04% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,504.70, down 0.66% France's CAC 40 at 7,536.52, up 0.13%Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,527.25, up 0.09%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 32,791.80, up 1.56% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 7,199.00, up 0.06% China's Shanghai Composite at 2,991.44, up 0.74%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 16,187.00, down 0.84%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.0764, up 0.03%GBP/USD at 1.2579, up 0.26%USD/JPY at 146.20, up 0.88%AUD/USD at 0.6561, down 0.25%USD/CAD at 1.3594, up 0.05% Dollar Index at 104.06, up 0.05% Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.262%, up 0.36% Germany at 2.2560%, down 0.53%France at 2.812%, down 0.21%U.K. at 4.0925%, up 1.22%Japan at 0.756%, down 2.58%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Feb) at $75.09, down 0.99%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Jan) at $70.41, down 1.15%.Gold Futures (Feb) at $2,010.05, down 0.22%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $42,431.42, down 3.03%Ethereum at $2,248.78, down 3.84%BNB at $236.85, down 1.01% XRP at $0.6267, down 4.48%Solana (SOL) at $69.75, down 2.99%.
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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.