Asia Markets End Lower, Europe Trades Mixed, Gold Stays Above $2K, While Crude Below $75 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Monday, December 4th, the U.S. stock markets concluded in the negative territory, as investors maintained a cautious stance in anticipation of upcoming employment data.

In economic data, October witnessed a 3.6% month-over-month decline in U.S. factory orders, a stark contrast to the revised 2.3% increase in September and diverging from market forecasts of a 2.8% fall.

Hawaiian Airlines HA stock soared following a $1 billion acquisition by its Alaskan ALK competitor, while Uber Technologies UBER shares climbed with the announcement of its inclusion in the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.11% to 36,204.44, the S&P 500 declined 0.54% to 4,569.78, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.84%, ending the session at 14,185.49.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 ended Tuesday's session lower by 1.33% at 32,775.82, led by losses in the Mining, Automobiles & Parts, and Manufacturing sectors.
• Tokyo's inflation fell more than expected, nearing the Bank of Japan's 2% target, suggesting a slowdown in consumer spending but reducing the likelihood of policy tightening in 2024.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.89%, closing the session at 7,061.60, led by losses in the Gold, Energy and Resources sectors.
• Australia's ASX 200 declined 0.9% following an unexpected current account deficit in the September quarter, primarily due to decreased exports to China, its leading trading partner.
• China's Shanghai Composite was down 1.67% to close the session at 2,972.30, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 1.90%, closing at 3,394.26.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.07% and closed at 16,305.50.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.24%.
• Germany's DAX gained 0.18%.
• France's CAC increased 0.23%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.59%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.55% at $73.44/bbl, and Brent was up by 0.47% at $78.41/bbl.
• Natural Gas climbed 1.00% to $2.721.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.11% at $2044.30, Silver declined 0.76% to $24.718, and Copper fell 1.08% to $3.7942.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET            

Dow futures were down 0.31%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.44%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.64%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.04% to 103.67. USD/JPY declined 0.16% to 146.97, and AUD/USD gained 0.64% to 1.5201.