On Friday morning (7 February, 9:28 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as market participants evaluated Japan’s household spending, while also monitoring interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of India and jobs data from the United States.
In December, Japan’s real household spending surged by 2.7% compared to the previous year, exceeding the forecasts of economists surveyed by Reuters of 0.2% growth. This rise marks the first increase since July 2024 and strengthens the argument for a potential interest rate hike from the Bank of Japan.
Japan’s NIKKEI declined by 0.48% to 38,877.99. South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.16% to 2,532.81, and Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 0.04% to 8,517.2.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC added by 0.58% to 3,289.66. Hong Kong’s HSI rose by 0.43% to 20,980.85, and Shenzhen’s SZI jumped by 1.11% to 10,509.02.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Thursday as NASDAQ gained 0.51% to 19,791.99. S&P 500 surged by 0.36% to 6,083.57, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank by 0.28% to 44,747.63. VIX slumped by 1.71% to 15.5.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday, following remarks by the U.S. President Donald Trump reiterating his commitment to boosting American oil production. This statement unsettled traders, especially coming on the heels of a significant unexpected surge in crude inventories reported by the country the day before. Brent futures for April decreased 32 cents or 0.4% to $74.29 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 42 cents or 0.6% to $70.61 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures grew 31 cents or 0.42% to $74.6 a barrel, and the WTI expanded 28 cents or 0.4% to $70.89 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures escalated 0.46% to $2,889.9 per Troy ounce.
