Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.5% at 6614.1, weighed by losses in gold, tech and health-care stocks.  
A retreat in gold prices dragged on miners, with Newcrest — the ASX’s biggest gold name — down 4.0% at A$34.16 and Evolution Mining down 4.4% at A$4.74. There were also headwinds from a number of stocks trading ex-dividend.  
 
Elsewhere, AMP shares rose 0.6% to A$1.805, after the wealth manager said it successfully completed a share-purchase plan. Coal miner New Hope’s shares remained in a trading halt ahead of an expected court ruling on a new mining project.   

 U.S. stocks fell intraday as renewed concerns about slowing global growth weighed on technology shares.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 38 points, or 0.1%, pulling back after four consecutive sessions of gains. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as a decline in technology stocks offset gains elsewhere. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6%.  
  
Shares of software companies and chip makers slumped, with Microsoft and Applied Materials dropping 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Both groups have come under pressure recently amid anxiety about the U.S.-China trade dispute and speculation over a downturn in the global economy.  
 
Analysts were also monitoring Apple’s annual showcase, where the tech giant revealed a trio of new iPhones. Apple shares ticked up 0.2%.  
 Data released showed U.S. job openings fell for a second straight month in July, a potential indication that the recent hiring slowdown is a sign that companies are being cautious. Job openings, a closely watched measure of labor market health, dropped 3% from a year earlier in July to 7.217 million after declining 2% in June, the Labor Department said in its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.   

Gold futures fell to settle under the psychologically significant $1,500-an-ounce mark, their lowest in five weeks, as a continued rebound by bond yields dulled the metal’s appeal.  
  
 Gold for December delivery on Comex declined by $11.90, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,499.20 an ounce. That was the first settlement under $1,500, and lowest finish for a most-active contract, since Aug. 6, according to FactSet. Prices also logged a fourth straight session decline. In other commodity markets, September wheat prices were up 10 cents at $4.84 1/2 cents. 

U.S. oil futures turned lower intraday, as traders bet that the departure of U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will ease tensions with Iran, potentially leading to the lifting of sanctions, which could put more oil on the market.  

President Donald Trump said over Twitter he’d told Bolton he was “no longer needed at the White House” and that Bolton resigned in the morning.   

Meanwhile, in a monthly report, the Energy Information Administration significantly cut its U.S. and global benchmark crude-price for this year in next, contributing to losses for U.S. oil prices and weakness in Brent crude.  

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $57.71 a barrel – off an earlier high of $58.76. November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $62.70 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, pulling back from an earlier high of $63.78.   

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was little changed at 91.24 intraday.  
 Earlier in the day, sterling gained only a small and brief boost after
better-than-expected U.K. unemployment and wages data, and quickly retraced its gains as investors remain aware that Brexit risks mean that the Bank of England is unlikely to raise rates. 

In Europe, closed mostly higher, with the Stoxx Europe advancing 0.1%.  
The index is up 0.10% to 386.44. London’s FTSE 100 reversed earlier losses to close 0.4% higher. The day’s biggest riser was JD Sports, up 8.8% after reporting rising profits in the first half of the fiscal year as it benefited from higher earnings. It was followed by lenders Barclays and LLoyds Bank, which finished the day up 4.9% and 4.3% each.  
 
The French CAC-40 Index was up 4.26 points, or 0.08%, to 5593.21 while the German DAX was up 42.61 points, or 0.35%, to 12268.71.   

 Asian markets were muted, with the Shanghai Composite down 0.1% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.3%.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.1%.  
  
Japanese stocks were bolstered by financial and auto shares, as bond yields rose and the yen weakened amid global policy stimulus hopes. Investors are looking for further signs of fiscal stimulus by major countries given that many advanced economies’ scope for
more monetary easing is viewed as limited. The Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.3% at 21392.10.  

 Hong Kong stocks ended flat, with the Hang Seng Index just up by 2.28 points at 26683.68. Malaysian shares closed lower, dragged by some telecom stocks led by Axiata, which plunged on the first day of trading following news that it and Norwegian group Telenor’s plan to merge some of their assets failed.  
 Meanwhile, Singapore shares rose amid investor optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks. The FTSE Straits Times Index closed 0.3% higher at 3155.71 as bank stocks climbed.