Sentiment in global markets remains dominated by the conflict in the Middle East, the ceasefire ending on Wednesday as well as prospects of a resumption of second round of U.S.-Iran talks. Earnings optimism related to the corporate sector also swayed market sentiment.
Wall Street Futures are trading with mild gains. Benchmarks in Europe are also trading on a positive note. Earlier in the day, Asian markets had finished trading on a mostly positive note.
The Dollar Index has rallied amidst the geopolitical uncertainty. Sovereign bond yields have moved in a mixed fashion. Ahead of the anticipated peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, both the crude oil benchmarks are trading below the flatline. Gold too has slipped below the flatline. Cryptocurrencies are however trading on a positive note. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 49,759.00, up 0.64% S&P 500 (US500) at 7,136.20, up 0.38%Germany's DAX at 24,570.96, up 0.52% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,621.59, up 0.12% France's CAC 40 at 8,345.81, up 0.18%Euro Stoxx 50 at 6,009.25, up 0.44% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 59,345.00, up 0.88%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,949.40, down 0.04%China's Shanghai Composite at 4,085.08, up 0.07%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 26,487.48, up 0.48% South Korea's KOSPI at 6,388.47, up 2.72%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1759, down 0.24%GBP/USD at 1.3507, down 0.16%USD/JPY at 159.23, up 0.29%AUD/USD at 0.7155, down 0.25%USD/CAD at 1.3655, up 0.04% Dollar Index at 98.27, up 0.18%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.255%, up 0.19% Germany at 2.9767%, down 0.01%France at 3.603%, down 0.11%U.K. at 4.8460%, up 0.21%Japan at 2.386%, down 0.21%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Jun) at $94.82, down 0.69%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Jun) at $86.71, down 0.81%.Gold Futures (Jun) at $4,803.39, down 0.53%. Silver Futures (May) at $79.02, down 1.27%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $76,374.84, up 1.73%Ethereum at $2,324.61, up 0.58%XRP at $1.44, up 1.54%BNB at $636.72, up 1.64%Solana at $85.82, up 0.83%
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Forex News
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.