On Tuesday morning (12 Mar, 9:55 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as Japan’s corporate inflation figures of 0.6% was higher than the 0.5% expectation by economists polled by Reuters, which indicated a potential signal for the Bank of Japan to raise its policy rates soon.
South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 0.41% to 2,670.68. Australia’s ASX 200 gained 0.09% to 7,711.1, while Japan’s NIKKEI decreased by 0.6% to 38,586.92.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC fell by 0.63% to 3,048.97. Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.22% to 9,560.23, while Hong Kong’s HSI rose by 1.09% to 16,767.88.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were mixed on Monday as NASDAQ dipped by 0.41% to 16,019.27. S&P 500 slid by 0.11% to 5,117.94, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged by 0.12% to 38,769.66. VIX jumped by 3.26% to 15.22.
As for commodities, oil prices were mixed on Monday as traders kept their eyes on the announcement of February inflation data and global crude outlook from OPEC and the IEA coming this week, while concerns over supply disruption from the conflict in the Middle East had less impact on investors. Brent rose 13 cents or 0.16% to $82.21 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid 8 cents or 0.10% to $77.93 a barrel.
This morning, Brent grew 18 cents or 0.22% to $82.39 a barrel, and WTI increased 13 cents or 0.17% to $78.06 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures declined by 0.12% to $2,185.9 per Troy ounce.
