Asia markets – China and Europe missing; gold holds near all-time high – Global Markets Today, while US sleeps – SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

U.S. stock markets rose Tuesday, Aug. 13, to a near two-week high as producer prices fell on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.

Investors are now focusing on key data on consumer prices and retail sales, which could increase the likelihood of a more aggressive rate cut by the Fed.

U.S. producer prices rose 0.1% month-on-month in July, compared with a 0.2% increase in June and below market expectations of a 0.2% increase, economic data showed.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended higher, led by gains in communications services, technology and consumer discretionary companies, while energy stocks ended lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.04% to close at 39,765.64. The S&P 500 ended up 1.68% to 5,434.43 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.43% to 17,187.61.

Asian Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed 0.54% higher at 36,427.50 points, mainly due to gains in the banking, chemicals, oil and plastics and financial services sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.31% to end the day at 7,850.70 points, led by gains in the healthcare, IT and A-REIT sectors.
• India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index rose 0.02% to 24,143.20, while the Nifty 500 fell 0.14% to end at 22,674.75.
• China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.60% to end at 2,850.65, while the Shenzhen CSI Index fell 0.75% to 3,309.24.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Exchange ended down 0.35% at 17,113.36.

Eurozone at 06:00 EST

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.32%.
• The German DAX rose by 0.36%.
• France’s CAC rose 0.36%.
• The British FTSE 100 index rose by 0.38%.

Goods at 06:00 AM ET

• WTI crude oil rose 0.08% to $78.42/bbl, while Brent crude rose 0.20% to $80.84/bbl.
• The price of natural gas rose 0.42% to $2.157.
• Gold rose 0.15% to $2,511.60, silver gained 0.58% to $27.948 and copper rose 0.44% to $4.0693.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow Jones futures rose 0.04%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.02% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.01%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.09% to 102.46, USD/JPY rose 0.19% to 147.09 and USD/AUD rose 0.05% to 1.5082.

Photo: Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock