Australia

Please note: we will be discontinuing the Global Markets Report after 28 February.

Australian shares are set to open lower, after the US market fell on jobs and inflation fears.

ASX futures were down 0.75% or 64 points as of 8:30am on Monday, suggesting a lower open.

US stocks fell Friday after a mixed jobs report showed the economy added 143,000 roles in January, slightly lower than forecast.

Adding to stock investors' nerves, President Trump said Friday afternoon at a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that the US will announce reciprocal tariffs on unspecified countries next week. Analysts have warned that tariffs could push inflation higher, and in turn keep long-awaited rate cuts on the backburner for longer.

The Nasdaq Composite slumped 1.4%, leading the session's declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 444.23 points, or 1%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.9%.

Fresh data Friday also showed that Americans have soured in recent weeks on the US economy. Consumer sentiment in the University of Michigan's preliminary February survey fell to its lowest reading since July 2024. Inflation expectations for the year ahead rose to their highest level since November 2023.

All three major US stock indexes closed lower for the week, capping off a wild streak of sessions that whipsawed on trade uncertainty and big tech earnings.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.5% to US$74.66 a barrel, while gold was up 0.17% to US$2,861.07.

The Australian dollar was at 62.71 US cents.

Asia

Chinese shares closed higher. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1% to 3,303.67, and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.6% to 1,996.24.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 1.2% to 21,133.54.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.7% to 38,787.02.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.3% to 77,860.19.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.3% to 8,700.53.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.5% to 21,787, and France's CAC 40 declined 0.4% to 7,973.03.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 1% to 44,303.4, the S&P 500 slipped 0.9% to 6,025.99, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.4% to 19,523.4.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Expedia Group Inc EXPE surging 17.27%, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO jumped 14.03%, and Monolithic Power Systems Inc MPWR lifted 8.98%.

The biggest decliners were Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA which dropped 6.68%, Air Products & Chemicals Inc APD fell 5.40%, and D.R. Horton Inc DHI lost 5.25%.