On Wednesday morning (3 Apr, 9:13 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific fell across the region as major EV stocks slumped, including Tesla’s 5% drop from a decline in 1Q24 vehicle deliveries and BYD’s 1.5% decrease from a drop in 1Q24 sales. There were also reports that people were cancelling their orders for Xiaomi’s EV. Meanwhile, investors also awaited the data from China’s service sector.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.87% to 39,490.45. South Korea’s KOSPI decreased by 1.33% to 2,716.43, and Australia’s ASX 200 slumped by 1.16% to 7,796.3.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.2% to 3,068.68. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.55% to 9,534.71, and Hong Kong’s HSI declined by 0.62% to 16,826.23.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dipped by 1% to 39,170.24. NASDAQ fell by 0.95% to 16,240.45, and S&P 500 edged down by 0.72% to 5,205.81. VIX jumped by 7.03% to 14.61.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as concerns were raised over conflicts across the continent, including the Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, the turmoil in the Middle East, as well as a larger-than-expected drop in US oil inventories. Brent increased $1.50 or 1.7% to $88.92 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.44 or 1.7% to $85.15 a barrel.
This morning, Brent remained unchanged at $88.92 a barrel, and WTI lost 4 cents or 0.05% to $85.11 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures rose by 0.98% to $2,304.2 per Troy ounce.
