On Monday morning (8 Jan, 9:36 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific took a dip as investors awaited key economic data. Australia and Japan are anticipated to announce inflation figures on Tuesday and Thursday, and China is set to disclose its trade balance and inflation numbers for December on Friday. Meanwhile, Japan’s market closed on Monday for a public holiday and will reopen its market on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the US reported stronger-than-expected jobs addition last Friday. A strong labor market could indicate that the Federal Reserve might potentially delay the first of its rate cuts from the market’s anticipation to be in March.
Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 0.19% to 7,475, and South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.14% to 2,574.58.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC decreased by 0.88% to 2,903.35. Hong Kong’s HSI dipped by 1.4% to 16,303.83, and Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 0.87% to 9,037.05.
Meanwhile, the US stocks market edged higher on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) edged up by 0.07% to 37,466.11. NASDAQ grew by 0.09% to 14,524.07, and S&P 500 rose by 0.18% to 4,697.24. VIX decreased by 5.52% to 13.35.
As for commodities, oil prices edged higher on Friday as US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, visited the Middle East as he attempted to ease some pressure in the ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hamas. Brent increased by 1.51% to $78.76 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) edged up by 2.24% to $73.81 a barrel.
This morning, Brent fell by 0.8% to $78.13 a barrel, and WTI declined by 0.83% to $73.2 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures remained unchanged at $2,049.8 per Troy ounce.
