Anticipation about Federal Reserve's monetary policy dominated market sentiment ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday morning. Fed rate cut expectations diminished amidst concerns about inflation recently cited by some Fed officials.
The CME FedWatch tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders currently shows expectations of a quarter-point rate cut by the Fed in September at 69.5 percent versus 75 percent a day earlier.
Wall Street Futures are trading with small gains. Benchmarks in Europe are trading on a mildly positive note. Earlier, Asian markets finished trading on a mostly positive note.
The six-currency Dollar Index extended gains ahead of the Jackson Hole speech by Fed Chair. Ten-year bond yields are trading on a mixed note. Crude oil prices gained amidst diminishing hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Gold extended losses amidst worries about the Fed's hawkish approach. Cryptocurrencies are trading in overnight negative territory. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 44,903.50 up 0.26% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,383.00, up 0.20%Germany's DAX at 24,288.84, down 0.01% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 9,313.42, up 0.05% France's CAC 40 at 7,948.45, up 0.13%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,474.15, up 0.22%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 42,617.50, up 0.02% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,967.40, down 0.57%China's Shanghai Composite at 3,825.76, up 1.45% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 25,339.14, up 0.93%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1605, down 0.01%GBP/USD at 1.3416, up 0.05%USD/JPY at 148.65, up 0.19%AUD/USD at 0.6420, down 0.06%USD/CAD at 1.3914, up 0.03% Dollar Index at 98.74, up 0.12%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.333%, up 0.05% Germany at 2.7490%, down 0.22%France at 3.449%, down 0.35%U.K. at 4.7520%, up 0.44%Japan at 1.630%, up 1.62%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Oct) at $67.80, up 0.19%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Oct) at $63.72, up 0.31%.Gold Futures (Dec) at $3,371.67, down 0.29%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $112,290.38, down 1.08%Ethereum at $4,282.48, down 0.56%XRP at $2.81, down 3.16%BNB at $845.97, down 0.80%Solana at $180.18, down 2.44%
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Forex News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.