On Tuesday morning (19 Mar, 9:29 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors focused on interest rate decisions from Japan and Australia. The Bank of Japan was expected to end its negative rate of 0.1% after holding for 17 years.
Japan’s NIKKEI dipped by 0.66% to 39,478.07. South Korea’s KOSPI declined by 1.14% to 2,655.19, while Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.03% to 7,677.9.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC increased by 0.08% to 3,087.49. Shenzhen’s SZI rose by 0.25% to 9,777.11, while Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 0.37% to 16,675.01.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged higher on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.2% to 38,790.43. NASDAQ rose by 0.82% to 16,103.45, and S&P 500 surged by 0.63% to 5,149.42. VIX edged down by 0.56% to 14.33.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Monday as China and the US showed signs of stronger demand and economic growth, while oil exports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia also dropped. Brent gained $1.55 or 1.8% to $86.89 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased $1.68 or 2.1% to $82.72 a barrel.
This morning, Brent lost 1 cents or 0.01% to $86.88 a barrel, and WTI dropped 5 cents or 0.06% to $82.67 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures remained unchanged at $2,164.2 per Troy ounce.
