Sentiment remained subdued as world markets digested the tone of caution in Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-policy comments. The outcome of the U.S.-China trade talks as well as the updates to corporate earnings, particularly from the tech sector weighed on market sentiment.
Wall Street Futures are trading with mild losses. Benchmarks in Europe are trading in the red ahead of the ECB's interest rate decision. Asian markets closed on a mostly negative note.
The six-currency Dollar Index added to Wednesday's gains. Ten-year bond yields hardened across regions.
Both the crude oil benchmarks retreated amidst the U.S.-China trade talks. Gold prices also slipped. Cryptocurrencies declined heavily.
Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 47,475.10, down 0.33% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,878.90, down 0.17%Germany's DAX at 24,089.87, down 0.14% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 9,695.50, down 0.62% France's CAC 40 at 8,128.40, down 0.88%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,675.25, down 0.54% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 51,325.61, up 0.04%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,885.50, down 0.46%China's Shanghai Composite at 3,986.90, down 0.73%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 26,282.69, down 0.24%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1598, down 0.03%GBP/USD at 1.3182, down 0.09%USD/JPY at 154.15, up 0.98%AUD/USD at 0.6556, down 0.29%USD/CAD at 1.3982, up 0.29% Dollar Index at 99.34, up 0.12%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.099%, up 0.99% Germany at 2.6565%, up 1.47%France at 3.437%, up 1.00%U.K. at 4.4420%, up 1.09%Japan at 1.649%, up 0.18%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Jan) at $63.99, down 0.51%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Dec) at $60.19, down 0.48%.Gold Futures (Dec) at $3,986.92, down 0.34%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $109,784.45, down 2.97%Ethereum at $3,884.36, down 3.22%XRP at $2.54, down 3.92%BNB at $1,112.38, down 0.16%Solana at $192.16, down 3.39%
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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.