Geopolitical tensions impacted market sentiment amidst U.S. threats of potential military action against Iran. Rate cut expectations also diminished amidst strong economic data. Disappointment surrounding weak earnings guidance from Intel also swayed sentiment.
Wall Street Futures are trading in negative territory. Benchmarks in Europe are trading on a mixed note. Asian markets finished trading on a positive note. The dollar remains firm around the flatline. Bond yields are trading on a mixed note. Crude oil prices rallied amidst U.S. threats of action against Iran. Safe haven demand supported gold prices, helping it touch a fresh all-time high of $4,969. Cryptocurrencies declined. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 49,240.90, down 0.29% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,905.10, down 0.12%Germany's DAX at 24,886.41, up 0.04% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,158.30, up 0.08% France's CAC 40 at 8,126.96, down 0.27%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,939.55, down 0.28% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 53,846.87, up 0.29%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,860.10, up 0.13%China's Shanghai Composite at 4,136.16, up 0.33%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 26,749.51, up 0.45%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1742, down 0.07%GBP/USD at 1.3529, up 0.27%USD/JPY at 158.16, down 0.15%AUD/USD at 0.6866, up 0.38%USD/CAD at 1.3765, down 0.18% Dollar Index at 98.30, up 0.02%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.233%, down 0.42% Germany at 2.8885%, up 0.19%France at 3.473%, down 1.17%U.K. at 4.4800%, up 0.11%Japan at 2.256%, up 0.45%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Mar) at $65.23, up 1.83%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Mar) at $60.48, up 1.89%.Gold Futures (Feb) at $4,937.86, up 0.50%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $89,196.79, down 0.81%Ethereum at $2,933.24, down 1.78%BNB at $886.55, down 0.57%XRP at $1.90, down 1.74%Solana at $127.16, down 2.16%
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.