Fears of the Fed pursuing a hawkish monetary policy stance were alleviated following the release of the minutes of the last FOMC meeting held in June. Markets expect the Fed to keep rates steady in the ensuing meeting in July. Tariff related headlines also swayed market sentiment.
The CME FedWatch tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders currently shows probability of a rate cut in July at 6.7 percent. It was 6.2 percent a day ago.
Wall Street Futures have recorded mild losses. Major markets in Europe are trading above the flatline. Asian markets finished trading on a mostly positive note.
The six-currency Dollar Index edged up. Bond yields are trading mixed. Crude oil prices declined deep into the overnight red zone. Gold recorded modest gains as Fed rate cut expectations were renewed. Cryptocurrencies rallied and Bitcoin is trading just 1 below previous peak. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 44,374.60, down 0.19% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,256.20, down 0.11%Germany's DAX at 24,568.03, up 0.19% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 8,952.58, up 0.96% France's CAC 40 at 7,901.91, up 0.30%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,453.00, up 0.13%Japan's Nikkei 225 at 39,646.36, down 0.44% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,589.20, up 0.59%China's Shanghai Composite at 3,509.68, up 0.48% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 24,028.37, up 0.57%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1711, down 0.10%GBP/USD at 1.3567, down 0.14%USD/JPY at 146.37, up 0.02%AUD/USD at 0.6552, up 0.23%USD/CAD at 1.3690, up 0.04% Dollar Index at 97.65, up 0.10%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.353%, up 0.30% Germany at 2.6400%, up 0.27%France at 3.363%, up 0.03%U.K. at 4.5910%, down 0.41%Japan at 1.504%, down 0.07%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Sep) at $69.57, down 0.88%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (Aug) at $67.69, down 1.01%.Gold Futures (Aug) at $3,328.30, up 0.22%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $110,861.97, up 1.31%Ethereum at $2,776.59, up 4.20%XRP at $2.44, up 2.35%BNB at $670.97, up 1.30%Solana at $157.40, up 1.96%
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Business 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.