Asia Markets End Lower, Europe Slides While Crude Oil Slips Below $70 - Global Markets Today While US Was Sleeping

On Wednesday, December 6th, the U.S. stock markets closed lower as concerns about a cooling job market fueled expectations of a rate cut.

In economic data, November U.S. private sector employment rose by 103,000, missing the expected 130,000 and down from the revised 106,000 in October. The U.S. trade deficit expanded to $64.3 billion in October, up from the revised $61.2 billion in September.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors fell, with energy down 1.64% and information technology losing 0.93%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19% to 36,054.43, the S&P 500 declined 0.39% to 4,549.34, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.58%, ending the session at 14,146.71.

Asia Markets Today

• Japan's Nikkei 225 closed on Thursday lower by 1.77% at 32,858.31, led by losses in the Precision Instruments, Electrical/Machinery, and Machinery sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 declined by 0.07%, ending at 7,173.30, led by losses in the Consumer Discretionary, Healthcare, and Financials sectors.
• China's Shanghai Composite dipped 0.09% to 2,966.21, whereas the Shenzhen CSI 300 declined 0.24%, closing at 3,391.28.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.80%, concluding the day at 16,342.50.

Eurozone at 06:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was down 0.19%.
• Germany's DAX declined 0.19%.
• France's CAC slid 0.10%.
• The U.K.'s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.05%.

Commodities at 06:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.43% at $69.68/bbl, and Brent was up by 1.01% at $75.06 /bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 2.37% to $2.508.
• Gold was trading higher by 0.15% at $2051.05, Silver gained 0.22% to $24.284, and Copper rose 0.92% to $3.7687.

US Futures at 06:45 AM ET            

Dow futures were down 0.20%, S&P 500 futures slid 0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.21%.

Forex at 06:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.29% to 103.85. USD/JPY was slipped 1.59% to 144.99, and AUD/USD fell 0.28% to 1.5226.

The yen gained value as Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda hinted at a possible move away from the bank's ultra-dovish stance.