Asian & European Equities Sink on Weak Economic Data

Global markets retreated broadly on Tuesday, as weak economic and manufacturing data weighed on equities. Asian markets finished lower on the session, with many stocks falling more than 1%. Notably, Tokyo Electron, a Japan-based chipmaker, fell 6.2% after the company cuts its forecast by half. Japan's Nikkei Index closed down 1.2%, with China's Shanghai Index falling 0.9%. Broad market losses were largely attributed to sluggish economic data in the United States and abroad. U.S. markets were hit hard Monday after the ISM reported weak manufacturing data. Despite an 11th hour deal reached this weekend to raise the U.S. debt ceiling before today's deadline, global investors still remained anxious Tuesday. London's FTSE Index and Germany's DAX Index are both down 0.6% in late trade. European stocks have now fallen to levels not seen in almost 10 months, as new worries spread that global growth is slowing. The safety trade in gold returned, with the metal up $8 to nearly $1,630 an ounce. The price jump was also supported by a large purchase by the central bank of South Korea. Crude oil is down today, with U.S. light, sweet crude trading down 1%, to $94.17. Demand for the commodity weakened on weak growth prospects.