On Thursday morning (14 November, 9:27 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific decreased after the US October CPI figures raised anticipation for another Fed rate cut in December.
The latest data on the US CPI met expectations, depicting a slight increase which resulted in an annual inflation rate of 2.6%. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, experienced a 3.3% surge in the previous month, in line with analysts’ expectations.
The data indicate a potential interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve in the upcoming month, with the probability of a 0.25% cut currently standing at 80.8%, as indicated by the CME FedWatch Tool.
As for Australia, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in October, in line with economists’ forecasts. Meanwhile, employment rose by 15,900 compared to last month, below the expected 25,000.
South Korea’s KOSPI surged by 0.75% to 2,435.1. Australia’s ASX 200 increased by 0.36% to 8,223.1, while Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.08% to 38,689.46.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 0.18% to 3,433.22. Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 0.75% to 19,675.24, and Shenzhen’s SZI lost 0.73% to 11,276.86.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were mixed on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added by 0.11% to 43,958.19. S&P 500 climbed by 0.02% to 5,985.38, while NASDAQ fell by 0.26% to 19,230.72. VIX slumped by 4.69% to 14.02.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday, driven by short-covering activities, which came after a recent dip that brought prices close to a two-week low following OPEC’s downward revision of demand forecasts. However, the gains were constrained by the dollar reaching a seven-month high. Brent futures rose 39 cents or 0.5% to $72.28 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew 31 cents or 0.5% to $68.43 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures decreased 8 cents or 0.11% to $72.2 a barrel, and the WTI shrank 13 cents or 0.19% to $68.3 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures lost 0.73% to $2,567.7 per Troy ounce.
