On Friday morning (3 May, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific increased as Hong Kong and Taiwan markets led gains after Apple reported larger-than-expected earnings, benefiting tech stocks and causing the US markets to rally. Meanwhile, stock markets in Japan and mainland China were closed for public holidays, while investors also monitored the announcement of US employment data.
South Korea’s KOSPI edged up by 0.13% to 2,687.07. Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.56% to 7,629.2, and Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.13% to 18,413.04.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.85% to 38,225.66. NASDAQ soared by 1.51% to 15,840.96, and S&P 500 surged by 0.91% to 5,064.2. VIX slumped by 4.61% to 14.68.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday as traders anticipated OPEC+ to extend output cuts, but economic uncertainty in the US and supply disruptions caused by the Israel-Hamas war caused the crude benchmarks to head for weekly losses. Brent increased 16 cents or 0.46% to $83.83 per barrel by 0008 GMT on Friday, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 19 cents or 3.58% to $79.14 a barrel.
This morning, Brent gained 18 cents or 0.22% to $83.85 a barrel, and the WTI grew 18 cents or 0.23% to $79.13 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.01% to $2,309.8 per Troy ounce.
