Japan Leads Asia Markets Decline, Europe Slides; Crude Oil Falls below $70 - Global Markets Today While US Slept

On Tuesday, September 3rd, U.S. stocks closed sharply lower, marking a rough start to September, a historically weak month for markets. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow logged their steepest losses since early August, led by sharp declines in the tech, energy, and materials sectors.

Weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and uncertainty over potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts dampened investor sentiment, with Nvidia plummeting nearly 10%, leading to a broader market decline.

Economic data showed S&P Global manufacturing PMI for August was revised lower to 47.9, while the ISM PMI rose to 47.2, missing the 47.5 estimate.

Most S&P 500 sectors fell, with energy, tech, and communication services posting the biggest losses, while real estate and consumer staples gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.51% and closed at 40,936.93. The S&P 500 ended the day lower by 2.12% at 5,528.93, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.26%, finishing the session at 17,136.30.

Asian Markets Today

• On Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed lower by 4.35% at 37,044.50, led by losses in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Transportation Equipment, and Marine Transport sectors.
• Japan’s Nikkei saw a significant drop, its largest decline in weeks, due to concerns about the U.S. economy, a stronger yen, and Nvidia’s sharp fall. Major Japanese chip stocks, such as Tokyo Electron, also faced losses, highlighting the global ripple effect of U.S. market trends and economic indicators.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.88%, ending the session at 7,950.50, led by losses in the Gold, Metals & Mining, and Resources sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 declined 0.32%, closing at 25,198.70, and the Nifty 500 closed lower by 0.17% at 23,748.90.
• China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.67%, ending the session at 2,784.28, and the Shenzhen CSI slid 0.65%, closing at 3,252.16.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended the session lower by 1.10% at 17,457.34.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index declined 1.16%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 0.77%.
• France’s CAC was down 0.92%.
• U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.67%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil’s WTI was trading lower by 0.53% at $69.98/bbl, and Brent was down 0.42% at $73.46/bbl.
• Natural Gas declined 0.36% to $2.195.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.34% at $2,514.65, Silver fell 0.06% to $28.332, and Copper fell 0.54% to $4.0693.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET

Dow futures were down 0.19%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.31%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slid 0.50%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.15% to 101.67, the USD/JPY was down 0.33% to 144.99, and the USD/AUD declined 0.01% to 1.4899.