Here is a roundup of the financial markets at the close of October 17, 2023, based on the web search results from my tool:
- US stocks ended sharply higher on Monday as investors awaited a deluge of corporate earnings results and shrugged off fears that escalated last week following the Israel-Hamas war. All three major indexes ended in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% or 314.25 points to finish at 33,984.54 points. The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% or 45.85 points, to end at 4,373.63 points. The Nasdaq advanced 1.2% or 160.75 points to close at 13,567.98 points1.
- Israeli stocks listed in New York and Tel Aviv have sunk to recent lows, underscoring the growing economic uncertainties in the war-torn region and leaving investors unsure of where markets go from here. The iShares MSCI Israel exchange-traded fund hit its year-low for the fifth time in one month on Monday and saw about $5 million in net outflows last week. The ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF gained back 0.5% on Monday after falling by more than 4% on Thursday and Friday. The TA-35, a benchmark index for the Israeli stock market, has dropped by about 2% in the past five days2.
- Stocks in the Asia Pacific region put in a modest bounce on Tuesday amid geopolitical tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6% to close at 28,643.21 points, while China’s Shanghai Composite index added 0.3% to end at 3,559.32 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.4% to finish at 25,745.35 points3.
- European stocks opened higher on Tuesday but gains were limited by the Middle East conflict and rising oil prices. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.2% at 464.23 points, while Germany’s DAX index was up 0.1% at 15,559.88 points. France’s CAC 40 index was up 0.3% at 6,671.92 points, while Britain’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.4% at 7,096.78 points3.
