Asia Pacific Markets Trade Mixed with Investors Focusing on Fed’s Meeting

On Tuesday morning (17 September, 9:19 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed, mirroring the diverse trading patterns seen on Wall Street. Investors are bracing themselves for the beginning of the Federal Reserve’s process of easing monetary policy.

Meanwhile, markets in South Korea, mainland China, and Taiwan were closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

 

Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 1.45% to 36,049.75, while Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 0.33% to 8,148.1.

As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.05% to 17,064.27, while Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 0.88% to 7,983.55.

 

Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged by 0.55% to 41,622.08. S&P 500 climbed by 0.13% to 5,633.09, while NASDAQ decreased by 0.52% to 17,592.13. VIX soared by 3.5% to 17.14.

 

As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Monday due to the continuing effects of Hurricane Francine on production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This increase helped counterbalance persistent worries about Chinese demand, especially with the upcoming decision on the interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve this week. Brent futures gained $1.14 or 1.59% to $72.75 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased $1.44 or 2.1% to $70.09 per barrel.

This morning, Brent futures grew 26 cents or 0.36% to $73.01 a barrel, and the WTI increased 46 cents or 0.66% to $70.55 per barrel.

Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.06% to $2,610.4 per Troy ounce.