Geopolitical Concerns Mount, Crude Oil Gains, Asia And Europe Markets Mixed - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Wednesday, October 3rd, U.S. markets closed lower as investors braced for the September payrolls report, which could influence future interest rate decisions. The slight rise in jobless claims signaled labor market softening, while escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices higher, adding to the cautious sentiment and prompting some profit-taking after recent gains.

In economic data, U.S. jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 225,000, slightly above estimates, while the S&P Global services PMI was revised lower to 55.2 in September, down from 55.7 in August. The composite PMI also dipped to 54.

The majority of S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with consumer discretionary, materials, and real estate stocks leading losses, while energy and information technology sectors rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.44% and closed at 42,011.59. The S&P 500 ended the day lower by 0.17% at 5,699.94, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.04%, finishing the session at 17,918.48.

Asian Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed the session higher by 0.16% at 38,613.50, led by gains in the Precision Instruments, Insurance, and Railway & Bus sectors.
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day lower by 0.67% at 8,150.00, led by losses in the Metals & Mining, Materials and IT sectors.
• India's Nifty 50 closed lower by 0.79% at 25,049.85, and the Nifty 500 was down 0.84% to 23,556.85.
• China Markets closed for the National Day holiday.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.82%, ending the day at 22,736.87.

Eurozone at 06:00 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index gained 0.21%.
• Germany's DAX was up 0.33%.
• France's CAC rose 0.41%.
• U.K.'s FTSE 100 index traded lower by 0.45%.

Commodities at 06:00 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.99% at $74.47/bbl, and Brent was up 1.00% at $78.41/bbl.
• Oil prices rose driven by fears of Middle East tensions disrupting crude flows despite ample global supply. Brent and WTI crude gained around 9% this week as Israel-Iran tensions and Libya's production rebound influenced market dynamics.
• Natural Gas was down 0.24% at $2.963.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.03% at $2,678.45, Silver fell 0.52% to $32.290, and Copper gained 0.21% to $4.5627.

US Futures at 06:00 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.01%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.30%.

Forex at 06:00 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.10% to 101.89, the USD/JPY was down 0.31% to 146.47, and the USD/AUD declined 0.05% to 1.4610.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock