Global market sentiment rebounded after swaying sharply in response to the hawkish tilt in the Fed's decision to hold rates steady. Markets also reacted to the uncertain geopolitical situation in the Middle East, the steady flow of earnings releases from the corporate sector as well as Bank of England's status quo on rates.
Wall Street Futures have rallied ahead of first quarter GDP readings. Benchmarks in Europe are trading on a mostly positive note as markets wait for the European Central Bank's interest rate decision. Earlier in the day, Asian markets had finished trading on a mostly negative note.
The 6-currency Dollar Index which measures the U.S. Dollar's strength against a basket of 6 currencies has declined after Wednesday's rally. Sovereign bond yields have eased after a continuous rally.
Both the crude oil benchmarks are trading slightly below the flatline. Gold has rallied close to 2 percent. Cryptocurrencies are trading deep in the red. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 49,186.90, up 0.67% S&P 500 (US500) at 7,161.70, up 0.36%Germany's DAX at 24,106.05, up 0.68% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,349.95, up 1.34% France's CAC 40 at 8,051.42, down 0.26%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,827.35, up 0.19% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 59,332.50, down 0.98% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,665.80, down 0.24%China's Shanghai Composite at 4,112.16, up 0.11%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 25,776.53, down 1.28% South Korea's KOSPI at 6,598.87, down 1.38%
Currencies:
Dollar Index at 98.34, down 0.62% EUR/USD at 1.1716, up 0.35%GBP/USD at 1.3525, up 0.39%USD/JPY at 157.11, down 2.00%AUD/USD at 0.7158, up 0.60%USD/CAD at 1.3652, down 0.25%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.402%, down 0.36% Germany at 3.0849%, down 0.36%France at 3.745%, down 0.37%U.K. at 5.0360%, down 0.79%Japan at 2.519%, up 2.03%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Jul) at $110.36, down 0.07%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Jun) at $106.65, down 0.22%.Gold Futures (Jun) at $4,648.69, up 1.91%. Silver Futures (Jul) at $74.09, up 2.78%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $76,010.09, down 2.09%Ethereum at $2,259.92, down 3.22%XRP at $1.37, down 2.09%BNB at $615.93, down 1.97%Solana at $82.97, down 2.75%
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Business 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.