Asia Markets Slide, Europe Extends Losses; Oil Drops On Tariff Concerns - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Thursday, February 27, U.S. markets closed in the red, driven by a sharp decline in Nvidia’s stock after its quarterly forecast fell short of Wall Street’s high expectations.

Concerns over slowing demand for artificial intelligence technologies and economic data indicating a cooling U.S. economy further dampened investor sentiment—rising jobless claims and slowing economic growth added to fears of a potential downturn.

Related: Nvidia Shares Dip Despite Strong Q4 Earnings Beat, Record Revenue: What’s Going On?

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revised fourth-quarter 2024 GDP upward by less than 0.1%, driven by increased government spending and exports. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose by 22,000 to 242,000, surpassing the expected 221,000 and reaching their highest level in over two months, signaling a weakening labor market.

Most S&P 500 sectors ended lower, led by declines in technology and communication stocks, while financial and energy stocks posted gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.45% to close at 43,239.50, the S&P 500 dropped 1.59% to 5,861.57, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.78% to 18,544.42.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 2.90% to 37,152.50, led by losses in the Transport, Pharmaceutical Industry, and Power sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.16%, closing at 8,172.40, led by losses in the IT, Metals & Mining and Materials sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 declined 1.88% to 22,120.25, while the Nifty 500 fell 2.13% to 19,882.05, led by losses in the Technology, Auto, and Public Sector Undertakings sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.98% to 3,320.90, and the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 fell 1.97% to 3,890.05.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 3.28%, ending the session at 22,941.32.
• Asian markets tumbled as escalating U.S. tariff concerns rattled investors.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 was down 0.49%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.22%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.33%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 index traded higher by 0.20%
• European markets extended losses Friday as traders reacted to potential U.S. tariffs on the EU. Trump hinted Britain could avoid tariffs through a trade deal.   

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 1.38% at $69.38/bbl, and Brent was down 1.24% at $72.66/bbl.
• Oil prices fell Friday, set for their first monthly drop since November, as U.S. tariffs, Iraq’s exports, and OPEC uncertainty weighed on sentiment.
• Natural Gas declined 0.41% to $3.918.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.73% at $2,874.01, Silver was down 1.39% to $31.360, and Copper slid 1.34% to $4.5560.       

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures were up 0.32%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.33%.

Forex at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. dollar index rose 0.06% to 107.35, the USD/JPY rose 0.31% to 150.35, and the USD/AUD rose 0.35% to 1.6093.
• The U.S. dollar strengthened as investors reacted to Trump’s impending tariffs, driving a selloff in risk assets. While the dollar gained against the yen and euro, concerns over economic slowdown and Federal Reserve rate cuts kept its monthly performance subdued.

Photo by Pavel Bobrovskiy via Shutterstock