World markets today: US stocks drop ahead of jobs data, Jerome Powell’s testimony

Data on US non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate for February will be released on March 8.

Powell is due to testify before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday.

At 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 151.11 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 38,936.27, the S&P 500 was down 7.97 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 5,129.11, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 25.21 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 16,249.73.

ALSO READ: Wall Street week ahead: Fed chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony, jobs report in focus

Super Micro Computer, which sells server and storage systems used in AI and other computing, jumped 18.7 per cent after the announcement of its inclusion in the S&P 500 index.

Shares of Apple fell 2.1 per cent following a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for preventing music streaming services from informing users of payment options outside its App Store.

Nvidia stock advanced 3.2 per cent after its market value closed above $2 trillion for the first time on Friday.

Cryptocurrency stocks including Coinbase climbed as Bitcoin on Monday rallied to a two-year high, rising above $65,000.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22 per cent from 4.18 per cent late on Friday.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118.61 points, or 0.30 per cent, to 38,968.77. The S&P 500 opened lower by 6.09 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 5,130.99, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.73 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 16,264.21. 

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.5 per cent at 7,643.21 points. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1 per cent at 7,929.63. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 per cent at 17,705.57.

Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.1 per cent at 4,900.30.

In Asian stock markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was flat at 16,595.97.  China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.4 per cent at 3,039.31.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.5 per cent at 40,109.23.

Oil prices rose slightly after a decision by major crude producers to extend output cuts. Brent crude rose 0.3 per cent to $83.79 after falling earlier in the day. 

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Published: 04 Mar 2024, 08:24 PM IST