On Wednesday morning (21 Feb, 9:23 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific declined following the drop in the US market, while investors evaluated trade data from Japan. In addition, negative business sentiment from large companies in the country raised concerns over further economic weakness.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.3% to 38,249.37. Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 0.63% to 7,611, and South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.12% to 2,654.6.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.13% to 2,926.54. Hong Kong’s HSI grew by 1.55% to 16,498.78, while Shenzhen’s SZI slumped by 0.21% to 8,886.96.
Meanwhile, the US stocks market edged lower on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.17% to 38,563.8. NASDAQ dipped by 0.92% to 15,630.78, and S&P 500 declined by 0.6% to 4,975.51. VIX rose by 4.83% to 15.42.
As for commodities, oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as concerns over global oil demand offset tensions in the Middle East. Brent slid $1.22 or 1.5% to $82.34 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped $1.01 or 1.3% to $78.18 a barrel.
This morning, Brent edged up 26 cents or 0.32% to $82.6 a barrel, and WTI remained unchanged at $78.18 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures decreased by 0.11% to $2,037.5 per Troy ounce.
