Here are the 5 most important things to know for today's trading day in global markets.
1. Oil sinks again
Crude prices fell sharply on Tuesday, after the International Energy Agency warned that oil markets would likely remain oversupplied next year due to a slowdown in demand. The IEA had previously expected the market to show no surplus in the second half of this year.
U.S. crude was down $1.10, or 2.4%, to $45.19 a barrel during morning hours in New York, while Brent slumped $1.00, or 2.1%, to $47.32.
2. Global stocks mostly lower
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Tuesday morning, with the Dow futures down more than 100 points, as investors continued to speculate over the timing of the next Federal Reserve rate hike, while keeping an eye on oil prices.
Meanwhile, European and U.K. stocks flipped between gains and losses in choppy mid-morning trade, as markets digested the latest set of data from Germany and the U.K.
Earlier, Asian shares ended mixed, with data from China failing to lift the market, as investors digested the latest comments from Federal Reserve officials.
In a speech on Monday, Fed Governor Lael Brainard warned against raising interest rates too quickly. The comments came after Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said on Friday that low interest rates are increasing the chance of overheating the U.S. economy.
Markets are pricing in a 15% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's September 20-21 meeting. For December, odds stood at around 55%.
3. China data released
China's factory output and retail sales grew faster than expected in August, easing concerns over the health of the world's second-largest economy.
Industrial production rose at an annualized rate of 6.3% in August, beating expectations for a 6.1% increase, the General Administration of Customs said on Tuesday.
Retail sales also handily beat expectations, with growth accelerating to 10.6% from 10.2% a month earlier, while fixed asset investment, which tracks construction activity, rose 8.1% last month, above forecasts for an increase of 8.0%.
4. U.K. inflation rises 0.6% in August
Consumer price inflation in the U.K. unexpectedly held steady in August, keeping the chance of another Bank of England rate cut on track despite a big rise in raw material costs after June’s vote to leave the European Union.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate of consumer price inflation came in at 0.6% last month, unchanged from July. Analyst had expected consumer prices to rise 0.7% in August.
The pound was down 0.5% at 1.3265 against the dollar after touching a session low of 1.3263.
5. German ZEW economic sentiment steady
German economic sentiment was unchanged near the lowest level in four years in September, disappointing expectations for a modest improvement, industry data showed on Tuesday.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment was unchanged at 0.5 this month. Analysts had expected the index to rise by 2.0 points to 2.5 in September.
A gauge for current conditions dropped to 55.1 in September from 57.6.