On Thursday morning (19 December, 10:13 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a downward trend, mirroring Wall Street, which was influenced by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to reduce borrowing rates for the third time in a row, along with indications of fewer rate cuts in the future.
Meanwhile, investors also assessed the decision from the Bank of Japan as it maintained the benchmark rate at 0.25%, which was in line with a recent poll conducted by CNBC.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.96% to 38,708.38. South Korea’s KOSPI decreased by 1.62% to 2,444.23, and Australia’s ASX 200 slumped by 1.8% to 8,159.6.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.65% to 3,360.2. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 1.04% to 19,658, and Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.41% to 10,540.69.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 2.58% to 42,326.87. NASDAQ plummeted by 3.56% to 19,392.69, and S&P 500 diminished by 2.95% to 5,872.16. VIX jumped by 74.04% to 27.62.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday following the decrease in U.S. crude inventories and the rate cut decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve. However, the increase in prices was limited due to the Fed indicating a potential slowdown in the rate of cuts. Brent futures added 20 cents or 0.27% to $73.39 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 50 cents or 0.71% to $70.58 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged down 38 cents or 0.52% to $73.01 a barrel, and the WTI dipped 39 cents or 0.55% to $70.19 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures declined 1.08% to $2,624.7 per Troy ounce.
