On Thursday morning (7 Mar, 9:53 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific increased following the statement from Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserve chair, noting that the central bank was not yet ready for rate cuts. Meanwhile, some major indexes, such as Japan’s Nikkei, Taiwan Weighted Index, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, hit a record high during the trading session.
South Korea’s KOSPI rose by 0.04% to 2,642.58. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.02% to 7,735.3, while Japan’s NIKKEI dipped by 0.9% to 39,731.17.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC increased by 0.55% to 3,056.58. Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.33% to 9,426.96, while Hong Kong’s HSI decreased by 0.19% to 16,407.39.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged higher on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.2% to 38,661.05. NASDAQ surged by 0.58% to 16,031.54, and S&P 500 rose by 0.51% to 5,104.76. VIX edged up by 0.28% to 14.5.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday as the US Federal Reserve signaled interest rate cuts this year, while also being cautious about the move. Brent gained 92 cents or 1.12% to $82.96 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 98 cents or 1.25% to $79.13 a barrel.
This morning, Brent edged down 1 cent or 0.01% to $82.95 a barrel, and WTI increased 5 cents or 0.06% to $79.08 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid by 0.01% to $2,157.9 per Troy ounce.
