On Thursday morning (12 December, 9:31 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific increased following the Nasdaq composite hitting a record high. The surge in Wall Street came after the US announced inflation data for November, meeting economists’ expectations and shedding light for investors hoping for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates during the meeting next week.
The consumer price index (CPI) for November grew 0.3% on a monthly basis and 2.7% compared to the same period last year. This was in tandem with expectations polled by Dow Jones.
Meanwhile, investors in Asia also digested jobs data from Australia. The country’s unemployment rate in November declined to 3.9% compared to the 4.1% level seen in the previous month. The figure missed the forecasts polled by Reuters of 4.2% increase.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 1.33% to 39,895.01. South Korea’s KOSPI escalated by 0.51% to 2,455.05, while Australia’s ASX 200 decreased by 0.28% to 8,330.4.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC surged by 0.26% to 3,441.3. Hong Kong’s HSI gained 0.31% to 20,217.11, and Shenzhen’s SZI climbed by 0.19% to 10,868.86.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Wednesday as NASDAQ expanded by 1.77% to 20,034.89. S&P 500 increased by 0.82% to 6,084.19, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) slid by 0.22% to 44,148.56. VIX slumped by 4.23% to 13.58.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as the European Union approved further sanctions on Russia oil flows, focusing on its shadow fleet, amid ongoing conflicts with Ukraine. However, gains were limited following a larger-than-expected increase in US gasoline and distillate inventories. Brent futures added $1.33 or 1.84% to $73.52 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) soared $1.70 or 2.48% to $70.29 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dropped 1 cent or 0.01% to $73.51 a barrel, and the WTI lost 6 cents or 0.09% to $70.23 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures fell 0.3% to $2,748.4 per Troy ounce.
