On Wednesday morning (23 April, 9:12 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend following a positive momentum from Wall Street, as hopes grew for a potential de-escalation of U.S.-China trade disputes.
The optimism stemmed from U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks suggesting that the impending tariffs on Chinese goods entering the American market would not be as severe as initially feared. Trump affirmed that while the tariffs would not reach 145%, they would not be eliminated entirely either.
Furthermore, Trump reassured the public that he had no plans to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell prematurely, easing worries among investors regarding the central bank’s autonomy.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged by 1.48% to 34,725.96. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 1.07% to 2,513.35, and Australia’s ASX 200 soared by 1.57% to 7,939.2.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI expanded by 1.65% to 21,917.53. Shenzhen’s SZI rose by 0.58% to 9,927.04, while Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.05% to 3,298.24.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) escalated by 2.66% to 39,186.98. NASDAQ gained 2.71% to 16,300.42, and S&P 500 jumped by 2.51% to 5,287.76. VIX plummeted by 9.61% to 30.57.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, boosted by fresh sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Iran and an uptick in stock markets, fueling a rebound from the sharp decline experienced in the previous trading session. Brent futures added $1.18 or 1.78% to $67.44 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.23 or 1.95% to $64.31 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures grew 34 cents or 0.5% to $67.78 a barrel, and the WTI remained unchanged at $64.31 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dropped by 0.94% to $3,387.3 per Troy ounce.
