Oil prices, dollar fall as market awaits US jobs data

Global stocks mostly fell along with oil prices and the dollar Wednesday as markets anticipate key US employment data amid economic growth concerns.

All three major Wall Street indices spent parts of the day in positive territory, an improvement from Tuesday’s dreary round in which they were negative the whole time.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished lower, while the Dow eked out a gain.

Entering September, a historically weak period for stocks, some investors decided to “lock in” gains from earlier in 2024, “because we don’t necessarily know how the year is going to end,” said LPL Financial’s Quincy Krosby.

Krosby pointed to uncertainty about US prospects “and whether or not the economy is slowing at a faster pace than just cooling.”

London, Paris and Frankfurt all finished modestly down after a bruising session in Tokyo where the Nikkei plunged more than four percent.

The retreat in the Nikkei coincided with a rally in the yen, which normally advances when global stocks struggle, said a note from Matt Weller, head of market research, on Forex.com.

Weller pointed to data showing fewer US job openings than expected, a report that “has traders on edge ahead of Friday’s marquee” monthly jobs data from the US Department of Labor.

Oil prices also pulled back, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate finishing below $70 a barrel for the first time in 13 months.

“Weak demand growth and ample supply are working together to push prices lower still,” said a note from Rystad Energy’s Svetlana Tretyakova that described a difficult balancing act for OPEC + exporters.

“Fears of an escalation in geopolitical tensions that drove oil prices higher last week –- with Brent breaching past the $80 per barrel mark –- have subsided despite ongoing uncertainty,” Tretyakova said.

Among individual companies United States Steel dropped 17.5 percent following a Washington Post report that President Bond will block a planned $14.9 billion takeover by Nippon Steel.

Nvidia shed 1.7 percent following a Bloomberg News report that it has been subpoenaed by US antitrust regulators as part of a probe into its practices.

– Key figures around 2045 GMT –

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

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

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

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,229.60 (close)

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

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

Story continues

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

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

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

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

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

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1082 from $1.1072

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3147 from $1.3146

Euro/pound: UP at 84.29 pence from 84.22 pence

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $72.70 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $69.20 per barrel

bur-jmb/bgs