Gas prices move lower, oil, stocks and crypto lower

U.S. stocks were higher early Tuesday morning as markets will reopen in a few hours after the three-day Juneteenth holiday weekend.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday wrapped up their worst weeks since 2020, with the major indexes extending whipsaw moves that have injected fresh volatility into markets. 

The S&P 500 rose 8.07 points for the day, or 0.2%, to 3674.84, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 152.25 points, or 1.4%, to 10798.35. The Dow fell 38.29 points, or 0.1%, to 29888.78.

All three finished the week with sharp losses. The S&P 500 fell 5.8% for the week, its largest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic roiled markets in March 2020. The Dow fell 4.8% for the week, its biggest drop since October 2020. 

The once-hot crypto market also had a crazy week, reinforcing investors’ concerns that there is nowhere to hide from the current market turmoil. One of the largest crypto lending platforms, Celsius Network LLC, told customers on Sunday it was pausing all withdrawals.

The anxiety spread quickly throughout the sector all week. Meanwhile, Asian markets Asian stocks rebounded. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney gained. Shanghai declined. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo added 1.8% to 26,246.31 while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.8% to 3,288.12.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.2% to 21,420.76. The Kospi in Seoul was 0.7% higher at 2,407.62 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 rose 1.3% to 6,514.80. India’s Sensex opened up 1.7% at 52,460.17. New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets gained. 

Investors worry efforts by U.S. and European central banks to cool inflation that is running at a four-decade high might derail global economic growth. 

Japan and China, two of the three biggest economies, have avoided joining in rate hikes.

On Monday, China’s central bank left its benchmark rates unchanged. The Bank of Japan stuck to its policy of near-zero interest rates last week despite concern that is weakening the yen’s exchange rate.

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