On Thursday morning (25 July, 9:43 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific fell as Japan’s Nikkei led losses following the continuous slump of the US markets. Meanwhile, investors also digested 2Q24 GDP data from South Korea.
South Korea’s GDP expanded by 2.3% compared to the previous year, missing the 2.5% expectations polled by Reuters. In terms of quarterly performance, the country’s economy contracted by 0.2%, falling below the 0.1% uptick predicted in the Reuters poll and a significant downturn from the 1.3% expansion recorded in the first quarter of 2024.
Japan’s NIKKEI plummeted by 2.71% to 38,092.71. South Korea’s KOSPI slumped by 1.66% to 2,712.94, and Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 1% to 7,884.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC decreased by 0.8% to 2,878.83. Hong Kong’s HSI declined by 1.24% to 17,095.78, and Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.59% to 8,443.23.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank by 1.25% to 39,853.87. NASDAQ fell by 3.64% to 17,342.41, and S&P 500 lost 2.31% to 5,427.13. VIX jumped by 22.55% to 18.04.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday following substantial drops in both U.S. crude and fuel inventories. However, they remained near a six-week low, reflecting apprehensions surrounding sluggish global demand. Brent futures increased 70 cents or 0.9% to settle at $81.71 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew 63 cents or 0.8% to settle at $77.59 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures slid 52 cents or 0.64% to $81.19 a barrel, and the WTI dipped 52 cents or 0.67% to $77.07 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dropped by 1.56% to $2,378.1 per Troy ounce.
