On Wednesday morning (25 December, 9:25 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific, including Shanghai’s SSEC and Shenzhen’s SZI, traded mixed amid gains in Wall Street on Christmas Eve.
Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.06% to 3,395.58,
while Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.47% to 10,621.06.
Meanwhile, Japan’s NIKKEI remained unchanged at 39,071.50.
Markets in Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, India, and Australia were closed for a Christmas holiday.
As for the US markets, this week kicked off the traditional Santa Claus rally, occurring in the final five trading days of the year and the initial two of January. From 1950 onwards, data from LPL Research shows that the S&P 500 has typically seen an average gain of 1.3% during this timeframe, surpassing the market’s usual seven-day return of 0.3%.
The New York Stock Exchange shut down ahead of schedule at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve, with the bond market following suit at 2 p.m. Trading will remain paused on Wednesday in observance of Christmas Day.
The US stock markets edged up on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.91% to 43,297.03. NASDAQ expanded by 1.35% to 20,031.13, and S&P 500 grew by 1.1% to 6,040.04. VIX declined by 14.96% to 14.27.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, driven by a more optimistic short-term forecast linked to the potential tightening of supplies, with trading volume decreasing in anticipation of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays. Brent futures surged 95 cents or 1.3% to $73.58 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 86 cents or 1.2% to $70.10 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures for February soared $1.02 or 1.4% to $73.65 a barrel, while the WTI remained unchanged at $70.10 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures remained unchanged at $2,635.5 per Troy ounce.
