On Tuesday morning (20 Feb, 9:45 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific edged lower despite a major move by the People’s Bank of China in cutting 5-year Loan Prime Rate LPR by 25bps to 3.95% from 4.20%, which is the first cut since August, and the most on record.
Japan’s NIKKEI decreased by 0.06% to 38,447.18. Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 0.31% to 7,641.7, and South Korea’s KOSPI dipped by 1.12% to 2,650.24.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC shrank by 0.04% to 2,909.28. Hong Kong’s HSI slid by 0.03% to 16,151.51, and Shenzhen’s SZI slumped by 0.52% to 8,856.29.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday.
As for commodities, oil prices edged a bit higher on Monday as concerns over oil supply which was caused by the conflict in the Middle East offset signs of weakening demand. Brent gained 9 cents or 0.10% to $83.56 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remained unchanged at $79.19 a barrel.
This morning, Brent slid 13 cents or 0.16% to $83.43 a barrel, and WTI gained 26 cents or 0.33% to $79.45 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.23% to $2,028.8 per Troy ounce.
