New Delhi, 12 March (H.S.):

Global markets signaled weakness today, with U.S. benchmarks under pressure in the prior session, European indices closing lower, and Asian bourses facing widespread sell-offs.U.S. markets traded under sustained selling, as the Dow Jones dropped 300 points while the S&P 500 shed 0.08% to end at 6,775.80; Nasdaq eked out a slight 0.08% gain to 22,716.13. Dow futures extended the gloom, sliding 573.74 points or 1.21% to 46,843.53.

European indices mirrored the caution, with FTSE closing down 0.56% at 10,353.77, CAC 0.19% lower at 8,041.81, and DAX tumbling 328.60 points or 1.39% to 23,640.03.

Asian markets plunged across the board, with all nine major indices in red. Gift Nifty fell 284.50 points or 1.19% to 23,631, Straits Times eased 0.86% to 4,822.18, and Nikkei cratered 1,135.37 points or 2.06% to 53,890. Hang Seng dropped 386.76 points or 1.49% to 25,512, while KOSPI, Taiwan Weighted, Shanghai Composite, SET Composite, and Jakarta Composite declined 0.64% to 1.44% at 5,529.25, 33,649.64, 4,106.96, 1,398.39, and 7,377.36 respectively.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar