On Friday morning (2 August, 9:30 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific decreased, leading by the drop of as much as 5% in Japan’s Nikkei during the trading session, following the selloff of stocks in Wall Street.
Newly released data in the United States has heightened concerns about a potential recession and worries that the Federal Reserve might be slow in lowering interest rates.
According to data, there was a significant increase in initial jobless claims, marking the largest surge since August 2023. The ISM manufacturing index, a crucial gauge of factory activity in the United States, reported a figure of 46.8%, falling below expectations and indicating a contraction in the economy.
Following the release of this data, the 10-year Treasury yield fell under 4% for the first time since February.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 4.31% to 36,482.52. South Korea’s KOSPI plummeted by 2.85% to 2,698.49, and Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 2.09% to 7,944.9.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC dipped by 0.5% to 2,917.6. Hong Kong’s HSI decreased by 1.81% to 16,991.31, and Shenzhen’s SZI lost 0.29% to 8,648.57.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank by 1.21% to 40,347.97. NASDAQ fell by 2.3% to 17,194.15, and S&P 500 dropped by 1.37% to 5,446.68. VIX jumped by 13.63% to 18.59.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday as concerns about a broader Middle East conflict, following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Iran, slightly affected global oil supply, while traders also shifted their attention back to worries surrounding demand for oil. Brent futures dropped $1.32 or 1.6% to settle at $79.52 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined $1.60 or 2.1% to settle at $76.31 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 37 cents or 0.47% to $79.89 a barrel, and the WTI increased 39 cents or 0.51% to $76.7 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures rose by 0.65% to $2,496.9 per Troy ounce.
