Oil prices and dollar fall as market awaits US jobs data

New York, United States — Global stocks fell along with oil prices and the dollar on Wednesday as markets await key U.S. jobs data amid concerns about economic growth.

All three of Wall Street’s major stock indexes spent part of the day in positive territory, an improvement from Tuesday’s stretch when they were all in the red.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the day in the red, while the Dow Jones recorded a slight increase.

READ: Asian markets fall along with Wall St after Nvidia failure, weak US data

Heading into September, a historically weak period for stocks, some investors decided to “lock in” profits for early 2024 “because we don’t necessarily know how the year will end,” said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.

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Krosby noted uncertainty about the U.S. outlook “and whether the economy is slowing at a faster pace than just cooling.”

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London, Paris and Frankfurt ended the session moderately lower after a thrilling session in Tokyo, where the Nikkei fell more than four percent.

The decline in the Nikkei coincided with a rise in the yen, which typically rises when global stock markets are in trouble, according to a note from Matt Weller, head of market research at Forex.com.

READ: Economic slowdown fears return to PH stock exchange

Weller pointed to data showing fewer than expected job openings in the U.S., which “caused anxiety among stock market investors ahead of key employment data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday.”

Oil prices also fell, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude trading below $70 a barrel for the first time in 13 months.

“Weak demand growth and abundant supply are working together to push prices down further,” Rystad Energy’s Svetlana Tretyakova said in a note, describing a difficult balancing act for OPEC+ exporters.

“Fears of an escalation in geopolitical tensions that led to a rise in oil prices last week – with Brent crude crossing the $80-a-barrel barrier – have receded despite the ongoing uncertainty,” Tretyakova said.

Among individual companies, shares of United States Steel fell 17.5 percent after the Washington Post reported that President Bond would block the planned $14.9 billion takeover of Nippon Steel.

Nvidia shares fell 1.7% after Bloomberg News reported that U.S. antitrust regulators had subpoenaed the company as part of an investigation into its practices.

Key figures around 2045 GMT

New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent to 40,974.97 (close)

New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.2 percent to 5,520.07 (close)

New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3 percent to 17,084.30 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 per cent to 8229.60 (close)

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,500.97 (close)

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent to 18,591.85 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.3 percent to 4,848.18 (close)

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 4.2 percent to 37,047.61 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.1 percent to 17,457.34 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.7 percent to 2,784.28 (close)

Dollar/yen: DOWN to 143.72 yen from 146.92 yen on Tuesday

Euro/Dollar: UP from 1.1072 to 1.1082 USD

Pound/Dollar: UP from 1.3146 to 1.3147

Euro/pound: RISE from 84.29p to 84.22p

North Sea Brent crude: DOWN 1.4 percent to $72.70 a barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent to $69.20 a barrel