Global market sentiment remains mixed as the Middle East war entered the second month. Worries about escalation in the attacks weighed on sentiment even as markets hoped for a positive outcome from the peace efforts.
Wall Street Futures are trading above the flatline amidst hopes of a positive result from the peace efforts. Benchmarks in Europe are also trading in positive territory. Earlier in the day, Asian markets had finished trading on a mostly negative note. The dollar index rallied further. Sovereign bond yields eased as markets worried about the war's potential impact on global economic growth.
Both the crude oil benchmarks are trading with overnight gains of around 2 percent.
Gold and silver are also trading in positive territory. Cryptocurrencies have rallied. Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 45,528.30, up 0.80% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,421.90, up 0.83%Germany's DAX at 22,394.18, up 0.35% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,067.95, up 1.01% France's CAC 40 at 7,735.42, up 0.43%Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,529.90, up 0.44% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 51,885.85, down 2.79%Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,461.00, down 0.65%China's Shanghai Composite at 3,923.29, up 0.24%Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 24,750.79, down 0.81% South Korea's KOSPI at 5,277.30, down 2.97%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1482, down 0.24%GBP/USD at 1.3232, down 0.21%USD/JPY at 159.47, down 0.53%AUD/USD at 0.6865, down 0.12%USD/CAD at 1.3922, up 0.19% Dollar Index at 100.30, up 0.15%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.369%, down 1.62% Germany at 3.0587%, down 1.27%France at 3.783%, down 1.51%U.K. at 4.9370%, down 0.70%Japan at 2.360%, down 0.80%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Jun) at $107.56, up 2.13%.Crude Oil WTI Futures (May) at $101.23, up 1.60%.Gold Futures (Jun) at $4,591.50, up 1.49%. Silver Futures (May) at $71.36, up 2.24%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $67,847.33, up 1.66%Ethereum at $2,072.30, up 3.56%BNB at $618.46, up 0.97%XRP at $1.35, up 1.17%Solana at $84.24, up 2.23%
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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.