On Tuesday morning (16 July, 9:26 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed following a surge in Wall Street sparked by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish comments, saying the central bank would not wait until inflation hit 2% to cut rates.
Meanwhile, as China’s GDP data on Monday fell below expectations, Goldman Sachs revised its forecast for the country’s annual gross domestic product from 5% to 4.9%. Similarly, JPMorgan reduced its projections from 5.2% to 4.7%.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.58% to 41,428.13. South Korea’s KOSPI remained unchanged at 2,860.8, while Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 0.21% to 8,000.8.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 0.35% to 2,963.7. Hong Kong’s HSI decreased by 1.06% to 17,825.25, while Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.19% to 8,818.61.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged by 0.53% to 40,211.72. NASDAQ gained 0.4% to 18,472.57, and S&P 500 climbed by 0.28% to 5,631.22. VIX jumped by 5.3% to 13.12.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Monday due to concerns over demand in China, despite positive U.S. economic updates, efforts by OPEC+ to limit supply, and continued tensions in the Middle East. Brent futures dipped 18 cents or 0.2% to $84.85 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracted 30 cents or 0.4% to $81.91 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures lost 22 cents or 0.26% to $84.63 a barrel, and the WTI slid 24 cents or 0.29% to $81.67 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged up by 0.11% to $2,431.5 per Troy ounce.
