Trading days, 16 Oct to 4 Nov. Higher is calmer: 70 confident, 50 balanced, 30 cautious.
Over these 14 trading days the mood ranged from 29
(nervous) to 66
(leaning positive), and today sits at
31 (cautious).
Opened about where it closed, overnight.
Each point is where a trading day settled. A single number from 0 to 100:
40% how many of the world's markets are up,
30% the Fear and Greed index,
20% the VIX inverted so calm scores high, and
10% Bitcoin. It is arithmetic, not an opinion, so you can compare
one day with the next. The number barely moves during a session, which is why this
is a daily line rather than an hourly one.
How this is worked out
The read on the tape
Asia session
·
Asia is sharply lower — the Nikkei down 3.98% to 60571.75 and the Kospi off 3.23% to 5466.48 lead the slide, with the Hang Seng the outlier, up 0.58% to 23529.66, while Shanghai eases 0.93% and the ASX 200 slips 0.60%. US futures point to a weaker open after Tuesday's gains, with S&P 500 futures down 0.85%, Nasdaq 100 futures off 1.27% and Dow futures down 0.53%. VIX sits at 20.83 against its 50-day average of 16.40, with the Fear & Greed Index at 19 — extreme fear. Gold adds 0.66% to 3966.60 and the dollar index falls 0.50% to 101.36, while USD/JPY drops 0.49% to 157.84 even as the Nikkei's drop is the sharpest number on the board.
Written by AI from the live market snapshot at that time, refreshed every hour. Informational only, not financial advice.
Markets never really close. While one part of the world sleeps, another is trading.
This page follows that daily relay in three short briefs: Tokyo opens,
then London, then New York.
Each brief is written in everyday words. If a market term appears, it is explained in the
same sentence. You get what moved, why it moved, and what is coming next, then the live
numbers underneath so you can check any of it yourself on the
Global Markets Dashboard.
This page explains the news. It is not financial advice and it never says what
to buy or sell.
Asian markets are set to open with South Korea rising sharply while Taiwan falls.
South Korea's market rose 2.27% in the latest session, while Taiwan fell 2.37%, and US stocks finished mixed. Tech and chip shares led gains in the US, while materials and consumer staples lagged. Investor mood is very nervous, with the Fear and Greed Index at 19 out of 100, which signals extreme fear.
What moved
In Asia, South Korea's EWY fund, which tracks its stock market, climbed 2.27% to 155.06, while Taiwan's EWT fund dropped 2.37% to 98.27. Australia's EWA fell 1.19%, Hong Kong's EWH slipped 0.49%, and Japan's EWJ eased 0.27%. In Europe, Britain's EWU lost 1.52% and Switzerland's EWL fell 1.09%, while Germany and France each slipped under half a percent. In the Americas, Mexico fell 1.52%, Brazil dropped 1.34% and Canada lost 1.02%, while the US S&P 500 index rose 0.36% to 7568.92.
Why it matters
Chip makers helped lift the US market, with the semiconductor sector up 2.01%, which may explain part of South Korea's strength since it has large chip companies. Taiwan's drop may reflect weaker sentiment toward its own chip makers. Oil prices rose 0.62% to $96.69 per barrel, which adds to costs for many businesses. The 10-year US Treasury yield, which is the interest rate the government pays to borrow for ten years, fell to 4.91%, a sign that some investors are moving money into safer assets like bonds.
What to watch next
Several important US economic reports are due at 8:30 and 10:00 Eastern Time, including jobs data, inflation figures (the Consumer Price Index), and weekly unemployment claims, which can move markets sharply. Investors will also watch how Asian markets react to the US close, since US results often set the tone for the next trading day.
US close · New York
US stocks edged higher as tech rallied, while Europe and Taiwan fell.
US stock markets closed mostly higher, led by technology and chip makers, with the Nasdaq up 0.83%. Stocks in Europe and several Asian markets ended lower, and investors remained cautious, with the Fear and Greed Index at 19 out of 100, a reading of extreme fear.
What moved
The S&P 500 rose 0.36% to 7568.92 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.83% to 25372.01, while the Dow Jones fell 0.38% to 51786.72. Semiconductor stocks, tracked by the SMH fund, climbed 2.01%, and the broader technology sector rose 1.31%. In Asia, South Korea jumped 1.93% but Taiwan dropped 2.37% and Australia fell 1.24%. In Europe, the UK fell 1.70% and Switzerland 1.26%, while Germany and France finished down by smaller amounts. Gold slipped 0.97% to 3931.20 and oil was roughly flat at 96.75 dollars a barrel.
Why it matters
Investors favored technology and chip companies, pushing their shares up while more traditional sectors such as materials and consumer staples lost about 2% each. Gold falling as stocks rose suggests that money moved out of safe-haven assets, which are investments people buy when they feel uneasy. The US 10-year Treasury yield, the interest rate the government pays to borrow for ten years, dropped to 4.94%, which means bond prices rose. Bitcoin climbed 1.50% to about 77,829 dollars, and the euro gained slightly against the dollar.
What to watch next
Several important US economic reports are due at 8:30 and 10:00 Eastern Time, including the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, and the monthly jobs report. Investors will be watching these closely because they can shift expectations about interest rates.
US open · New York
US stocks mixed at the open as Nasdaq rises and Dow slips
Technology shares led US stocks higher at the open, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.62%. Investors are nervous, with the Fear and Greed Index at 19 out of 100, which signals extreme fear.
What moved
The S&P 500 gained 0.32% to 7,565.33, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.81% to 25,367.83. South Korea's market (EWY) jumped 3.03%, while Taiwan's fell 2.06%, and Brazil dropped 1.94%. In Europe, the United Kingdom slid 0.96% while Italy and Spain edged up. Chipmakers, tracked by the SMH fund, were the best performers among US sectors, rising 3.01%, while materials and consumer staples, which are everyday goods like food and household items, fell about 1.5%. Bitcoin was up 0.69% at about $77,200, and gold slipped 0.32% to $3,957 per ounce.
Why it matters
Chip companies climbed, pulling technology stocks higher and lifting the Nasdaq, while sectors that people buy in any economy lagged. Bond yields, which are the interest rates the government pays to borrow, fell: the 10-year yield dropped to 4.94% and the 2-year to 4.56%, which often means investors are moving money into safer assets. Oil held near $96 per barrel. The mood is cautious ahead of the US midterm elections, which is one reason many investors are waiting on the news before making big moves.
What to watch next
At 8:30 Eastern Time, the government releases its monthly jobs report (non-farm payrolls), its inflation reading (the consumer price index), and the producer price index, which tracks prices businesses pay. Weekly jobless claims also come out at the same time. At 10:00 Eastern, the job openings report (JOLTS) shows how many positions employers are trying to fill.
Europe open · London
US stocks slipped as tech and energy fell, while European markets rose.
US tech stocks fell sharply, pulling the Nasdaq down 1.07 percent, while oil producers also dropped. European shares moved higher, with Spain up 1.44 percent and France up 1.18 percent. Fear is high among investors, with the Fear and Greed Index at 23 out of 100, which signals extreme fear.
What moved
The Nasdaq Composite, which is an index tracking many technology companies, closed at 25164.36, down 1.07 percent, and the S&P 500 lost 0.51 percent. Technology shares fell 2.95 percent and chip makers, tracked by the semiconductor index, dropped 2.71 percent. Energy shares were the weakest sector at minus 3.96 percent, even as crude oil rose 1.42 percent to 97.83 dollars a barrel. Across Asia, India gained 1.53 percent and China rose 1.06 percent, while South Korea fell 0.83 percent. Gold, a traditional safe haven where investors often park money in uncertain times, slipped 1.30 percent to 3918 dollars.
Why it matters
Bitcoin fell below 77,000 dollars as the chip sell-off deepened, and the broader pattern points to investors cutting back on riskier assets. The US 10-year Treasury yield, which is the interest rate the government pays to borrow for ten years, eased to 4.94 percent, a sign that some money is moving into government bonds. Investors are also watching the US midterm elections, which add uncertainty. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds from BlackRock recorded their largest outflows since June, meaning investors pulled money out.
What to watch next
Several major US economic reports are due at 08:30 Eastern Time, including Non-Farm Payrolls, which counts new jobs, the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, and the Producer Price Index. Jobless claims and the Job Openings report due at 10:00 Eastern Time will also show how strong the US labour market remains.
02
World Markets Now
The main share index of each major market, in the order the trading day happens.
A share index tracks a basket of large companies, so it is a quick way to see whether
a whole market went up or down.
Asia-Pacific
Market
Level
Change
South Korea EWY
155.06
+2.27%
India INDA
48.70
+0.52%
Japan EWJ
92.59
-0.27%
China MCHI
49.40
-0.38%
Hong Kong EWH
22.44
-0.49%
Australia EWA
29.08
-1.19%
Taiwan EWT
98.27
-2.37%
Europe
Market
Level
Change
Italy EWI
56.37
-0.02%
Germany EWG
42.06
-0.24%
Spain EWP
56.91
-0.40%
France EWQ
42.54
-0.47%
Switzerland EWL
64.31
-1.09%
United Kingdom EWU
47.30
-1.52%
Americas
Market
Level
Change
United States SPY
754.35
+0.30%
Canada EWC
60.21
-1.02%
Brazil EWZ
31.73
-1.34%
Mexico EWW
74.73
-1.52%
03
How This Page Works
When it updates. Four times each weekday. Three at the moment a market
opens for business: 9:00 in Tokyo, 8:00 in London and
9:30 in New York. Then a fourth at 16:00 in New York,
the closing bell that ends the global trading day, and the one brief that reports a day
already finished rather than one about to start. These are each exchange's own local
times, so a brief arrives with the bell all year and moves with the clocks when daylight
saving starts or ends. At the weekend there is a single brief at 10:00 UTC, because share
markets are shut and only crypto and some currencies keep moving.
Who writes it. An AI model, Claude Haiku, writes each brief from a
snapshot of live market data taken at that moment. It is given real figures only, from the
same feeds behind the dashboard, and is instructed never to invent a number or an event.
No human edits the text before it appears.
The temperature is measured, not judged. The bar near the top is a single
score from 0 to 100 for each session, so you can watch the mood pass from Tokyo to London
to New York. It is a weighted average of four things: how many of the world's markets are
up (40%), the Fear and Greed index (30%), the VIX inverted so calm scores high (20%), and
Bitcoin's day change (10%). It is plain arithmetic rather than the AI's opinion, which is
the point: the same inputs always give the same number, so comparing one session with the
next means something.
The same page for everyone. Wherever you open this from, you see the same
briefs and the same numbers. Only the clock adapts: times are shown in your own time zone.
All three regions are always covered, because a story that begins in Tokyo usually ends in
New York.
Where the numbers come from. Index, currency, commodity, bond and crypto
feeds, listed with their update frequency on the data sources
page. For the week in context, see weekly market trends.
This page publishes a short brief at each of the three main market openings: Asia in Tokyo,
Europe in London, and the United States in New York. Each brief says what moved, by how
much, and why it matters. Below them you can see live index moves for every region, so you
can check the numbers yourself.
How often is Markets Today updated?
Four times every weekday. Three as each market opens: 9:00 in Tokyo, 8:00 in London and
9:30 in New York, each in its own local time. Then once more at 16:00 in New York, the
closing bell that ends the global trading day, which is the only brief written about a day
that has already happened rather than one about to start. At the weekend there is one brief
at 10:00 UTC covering crypto and currencies, which keep trading. Every brief is stamped
with the exact time it was published, shown in your own time zone.
Does the page show different content depending on where I am?
No. Everyone sees the same briefs and the same numbers. The only thing your browser changes
is how times are displayed, shown in your own time zone for convenience.
Who writes the market brief?
An AI model, Claude Haiku, writing from a live snapshot of market data. It only ever sees
real figures from the dashboard feeds and is instructed not to invent numbers or events.
It is a summary of what the data shows, not a human analyst's opinion.
What is "the read on the tape"?
It is the AI Mood narrative, the same short trader-voice read that appears on the live
dashboard, shown here directly under the market temperature. The temperature is
arithmetic and always gives the same number for the same inputs; the read is the
interpretation of it, written by AI from a live market snapshot. It is written at each
session open, as soon as that market's first prices arrive, and refreshed every hour in
between, so it covers the New York close as well as the opens. It is hidden if it has not
refreshed in six hours, rather than pair today's brief with an opinion formed long before
it. Informational only, not financial advice.
How is the market temperature worked out?
It is a weighted average of four measurements, scored from 0 for nervous to 100 for
confident:
Breadth, 40%. The share of the world's tracked share indices that are
up on the day. The most direct answer to whether today is broadly good or broadly bad,
and it counts every region equally.
Fear and Greed, 30%. The well-known sentiment index, already scored
from 0 to 100.
The VIX, 20%. A measure of how much sudden movement traders expect.
Inverted here so calm scores high: 10 or below reads 100, 40 or above reads 0.
Bitcoin's day change, 10%. Crypto never closes, so it is the only live
signal at a weekend.
If a measurement is unavailable it is dropped and the rest are rescaled, so a weekend still
gives an honest reading rather than a gap. The number is worked out by arithmetic and is
not written by the AI: the same inputs always give the same result, which is what makes it
fair to compare one day against the next.
It is a daily reading rather than an hourly one, and the chart above reflects that. Most of
the breadth measurement comes from markets that have already closed by the time New York
opens, and the Fear and Greed index updates about once a day, so the figure barely moves
between one session and the next: over four weeks it shifted by a median of one and a half
points within a day. Between days it moves far more, a median of seventeen points from
where one day settles to where the next one opens, which is why the chart plots days and
the line above it reports the overnight change.
Where does the market data come from?
The same feeds that power the Global Markets Dashboard: indices,
currencies, commodities, government bond yields, crypto, sectors and the economic calendar.
Every source is listed on the data sources page.
Is this investment advice?
No. This page explains what happened and why. It never tells you what to buy or sell and
makes no predictions. For financial decisions, speak to a licensed adviser who knows your
circumstances.
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