European stocks fell Wednesday, ending the last day of August with energy stocks hurt as the oil market sold off, but a report that Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG held merger talks sent shares of the German lending heavyweights higher.

U.S. stocks finished lower Wednesday, and the Dow industrials and S&P 500 closed lower for the month of August, as oil prices fell and promising economic data supported the case for a Federal Reserve rate hike this year.

Asian shares were broadly weaker early Thursday, as markets cautiously awaited the release of U.S. jobs data that could jolt markets out of their summer malaise. A recent report from payroll processor ADP, which showed private U.S. employers continued to hire at a solid clip in August by adding 177,000 workers, raised hopes for a strong showing in U.S. non-farm payrolls, the next test of the likelihood of an interest-rate rise.