On Friday morning (9 August, 9:36 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific increased, mirroring the upward trend on Wall Street. This followed the release of fresh labor market data that bolstered investor optimism about the U.S. economy. The data helped alleviate fears of a looming recession after a significant market downturn earlier in the week.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were lower than expected last week, contradicting other signals of a deteriorating job market. New claims for jobless benefits stood at 233,000, a decrease of 17,000 from the previous week and below the Dow Jones’ projection of 240,000. This unexpected development provided some respite to the markets amid indications of a sluggish job expansion.
Meanwhile, investors also analyzed China’s consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) for July. The CPI in China recorded a 0.5% year-on-year increase, surpassing Reuters’ projections of a 0.3% uptick. This growth contrasts with the 0.2% rise seen in June.
The PPI for July declined by 0.8% compared to the previous year, slightly better than the predicted 0.9% decrease and in line with June’s 0.8% drop.
Japan’s NIKKEI jumped by 1.64% to 35,403.06. South Korea’s KOSPI soared by 1.48% to 2,594.67, and Australia’s ASX 200 surged by 1.21% to 7,775.1.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.28% to 2,877.98. Hong Kong’s HSI gained 1.58% to 17,159.3, and Shenzhen’s SZI increased by 0.38% to 8,478.61.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew by 1.76% to 39,446.49. NASDAQ escalated by 2.87% to 16,660.02, and S&P 500 jumped by 2.3% to 5,319.31. VIX slumped by 14.58% to 23.79.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday as U.S. job data alleviated demand worries and tensions in the Middle East supported a rebound in prices from an eight-month low observed on Monday. Brent futures rose 83 cents or 1.06% to settle at $79.16 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew 96 cents or 1.28% to settle at $76.19 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 7 cents or 0.09% to $79.23 a barrel, and the WTI gained 11 cents or 0.14% to $76.3 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed by 0.07% to $2,465.1 per Troy ounce.
