On Monday morning (1 July, 9:26 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors digested June business activity data from China and Japan’s business confidence readings.
China’s manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 49.5 in June. Meanwhile, a private survey showed significant improvement in business conditions, with the S&P Caixin PMI rising to 51.8 from 51.7 in May, the highest level in three years.
As for Japan, the confidence among major manufacturers increased in the second quarter, as indicated by the BoJ’s Tankan survey reaching +13, surpassing the first quarter’s +11 and beating economists’ expectations of +12. However, non-manufacturers’ sentiment dipped to +33, in line with forecasts but lower than the previous quarter’s +34, marking the first decline in four years.
Looking ahead, S&P Global will release Purchasing Managers’ Index readings for various Asian economies, including China, Japan, and South Korea.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.33% to 39,712.47. South Korea’s KOSPI edged up by 0.1% to 2,800.49, while Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.4% to 7,736.3.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.06% to 2,965.7. Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 0.65% to 8,790.98, while Hong Kong’s HSI climbed by 0.01% to 17,718.61.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.12% to 39,118.86. NASDAQ contracted by 0.71% to 17,732.6, and S&P 500 dropped by 0.41% to 5,460.48. VIX jumped by 1.63% to 12.44.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday amidst escalating tensions indicating a potential military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. This development has raised concerns about a possible confrontation involving OPEC member Iran, prompting fears of supply disruptions in the crude market. Brent futures for August increased 2 cents or 0.02% to $86.41 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 20 cents or 0.24% to $81.54 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures for September gained 38 cents or 0.45% to $85.38 a barrel, and the WTI for August surged 39 cents or 0.48% to $81.93 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid by 0.12% to $2,336.8 per Troy ounce.
