Stock Market Live Updates 05 March 2024: Asian markets under pressure, oil prices little changed in early trade

Australian shares slipped while Japanese equities opened little changed after the Nikkei 225 breached 40,000 index points on Monday as optimism in Japan supports the stock market. The Wall Street equity rally took a breather ahead of the release of key US data.

In Asia, focus will be on the annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing. Investors will be closely watching the government’s annual work report at the parliament’s opening Tuesday, per a Bloomberg report. 

In commodities, oil prices were little changed early Tuesday. Gold held above $2,100 following a Monday rally. Bitcoin traded around $67,800.