After enjoying a broadly healthy run-up at the start of September, markets were again on the back foot as traders reassess their growth outlook for this year in light of the fast-spreading Delta variant
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 briefly broke 30,000 for the first time in five months on growing expectations for a fresh injection of stimulus after Japan's prime minister said he would step aside, paving the way for a new big-spending successor
Investors have been rattled in recent weeks by data showing the highly transmissible virus surging across the world, forcing some governments to reimpose containment measures
The Conference Board's monthly report showed Americans increasingly upbeat about the economy and their job prospects, putting aside worries over rising prices
Days after the March ban on Tesla cars in military complexes, Musk appeared by video at a high-level Chinese forum, saying that if Tesla used cars to spy in China or anywhere, it would be shut down.
"Markets continue to view this progress favorably, with long-term interest rates remaining remarkably calm and the stock market, so far, avoiding any sharp correction."
But Axi strategist Stephen Innes said vast financial support from the Fed, government spending and the vaccine rollout "still points to gleaming days ahead".