On Monday morning (19 August, 9:39 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors awaited key economic data coming in the week, including the Bank of Korea’s interest rate decision, the disclosure of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s August meeting minutes, inflation numbers from Japan and Singapore, as well as China’s loan prime rates.
Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.11% to 38,021.38. South Korea’s KOSPI declined by 0.29% to 2,689.45, and Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.02% to 7,969.8.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.6% to 2,896.7. Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.32% to 17,660.18, and Shenzhen’s SZI rose by 0.45% to 8,387.61.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.24% to 40,659.76. NASDAQ gained 0.21% to 17,631.72, and S&P 500 grew by 0.2% to 5,554.25. VIX slumped by 2.82% to 14.8.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday attributed to investors adjusting their expectations for demand growth from China, with recent data revealing a slowdown in the country’s economy during the month of July. Brent futures decreased $1.36 or 1.7% to settle at $79.68 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped $1.51 or 1.9% to settle at $76.65 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 3 cents or 0.04% to $79.71 a barrel, and the WTI climbed 2 cents or 0.03% to $76.67 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures remained unchanged at $2,537.7 per Troy ounce.
