On Monday morning (21 October, 9:40 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific increased as investors evaluated China’s loan prime rate adjustment, while also keeping a close watch on Japan’s upcoming general election scheduled for the end of the week.
China’s central bank reduced the one- and five-year LPRs by 25 basis points each to 3.1% and 3.6%, respectively.
Moreover, traders also monitored important economic indicators during the week, including the October inflation data for Tokyo, Japan, and the preliminary GDP numbers for South Korea in the third quarter.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.31% to 39,101.53. South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 0.79% to 2,614.43, and Australia’s ASX 200 increased by 0.63% to 8,335.7.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.37% to 3,273.55. Shenzhen’s SZI jumped by 1.35% to 10,497.41, while Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 0.4% to 20,721.12.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed by 0.09% to 43,275.91. NASDAQ surged by 0.63% to 18,489.55, and S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 5,864.67. VIX plummeted by 5.65% to 18.03.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday, following reports of a deceleration in China’s economic growth and as market participants assessed varying prospects in the Middle East. Brent futures lost $1.39 or 1.87% to $73.06 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined $1.45 or 2.05% to $69.22 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures rose 25 cents or 0.34% to $73.31 a barrel, and the WTI grew 28 cents or 0.4% to $69.5 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.54% to $2,744.7 per Troy ounce.
