Ahead of a barrage of economic data, US equities began lower on Tuesday.
When the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened, it had dropped 82.85 points, or 0.21%, to 38,906.98. The Nasdaq Composite began trading at 16,077.74, down 129.77 points, or 0.80%, while the S&P 500 opened lower at 5,110.52, down 20.43 points, or 0.40%.
On March 8, information about February’s non-farm payrolls and unemployment rate in the US will be made public. On Wednesday and Thursday, US legislators are scheduled to hear testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1% to 7,646.34 points in Europe. At 7,959.76, the CAC 40 for France was flat.
Asian stock markets stumbled on Tuesday following China’s announcement of a 5% GDP growth goal for 2024, which is unchanged from the previous year. At 16,162.64, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 2.6%.The Shanghai Composite increased by 0.3% to 3,047.79 points.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed at 40,097.63, unchanged. Following a decline in the previous session, oil prices were stable on Tuesday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 6 cents to $78.68 by 1040 GMT, while Brent crude was up 8 cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $82.88 a barrel.
