On Friday morning (26 Apr, 9:25 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific rebounded as investors paid attention to BOJ’s interest rate decision and inflation data from the country. Tokyo’s headline inflation rate for April declined to 1.8%, compared to 2.6% seen in March, and core inflation for April dropped to 1.6% from 2.4% in March.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.49% to 37,811.69. South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 1.03% to 2,655.7, while Australia’s ASX 200 slumped by 1.35% to 7,579.5.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.46% to 3,067.01. Shenzhen’s SZI edged up by 0.82% to 9,340.72, and Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.59% to 17,559.23.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 0.98% to 38,085.8. NASDAQ lost 0.64% to 15,611.76, and S&P 500 declined by 0.46% to 5,048.42. VIX slumped by 3.76% to 15.37.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday day as traders assessed slower-than-expected economic growth in the US and potential tension in the Middle East. Brent gained 99 cents or 1.12% to $89.01 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased 76 cents or 0.92% to $83.57 a barrel.
This morning, Brent rose 29 cents or 0.33% to $89.3 a barrel, and the WTI grew 25 cents or 0.3% to $83.82 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.2% to $2,347.2 per Troy ounce.
