On Thursday morning (19 September, 9:30 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific increased as investors digested the US Federal Reserve’s rate cut decision, reducing the policy rates by 50 basis points to the target range of 4.75% to 5%.
As for Japan, the Nikkei 225 index and the diversified Topix index, have both recorded a notable increase of more than 2%, while the Bank of Japan is on the brink of commencing a pivotal two-day meeting that is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
Japan’s NIKKEI soared by 2.62% to 37,332.78. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.14% to 8,153.5, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 0.59% to 2,560.26.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.37% to 2,727.21. Hong Kong’s HSI grew by 0.62% to 17,769.68, and Shenzhen’s SZI gained 0.86% to 8,061.17.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) contracted by 0.25% to 41,503.1. NASDAQ dipped by 0.31% to 17,573.3, and S&P 500 decreased by 0.29% to 5,618.26. VIX jumped by 3.52% to 18.23.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut decision, which some see as advantageous for the oil market due to the resulting depreciation of the dollar, consequently boosting prices for dollar-denominated commodities. Brent futures slid 5 cents or 0.07% to $73.65 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 28 cents or 0.39% to $70.91 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures shrank 36 cents or 0.49% to $73.29 a barrel, and the WTI shed 42 cents or 0.59% to $70.49 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dropped by 0.55% to $2,584.4 per Troy ounce.
