On Tuesday morning (24 September, 9:33 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific increased following the announcement of policy easing measures from China.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has decided to decrease the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points, without giving specific timeline, while also revealing plans to lower the seven-day reverse repurchase rate from 1.7% to 1.5%.
The central bank also hinted at the reduction of the loan prime rate (LPR) by 20 to 25 basis points, but did not demonstrate whether this adjustment would apply to the one-year or five-year rate.
In addition, Australia is poised to announce its interest rate decision, with Reuters’ poll forecasting the RBA to hold rates at 4.35%.
South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.04% to 2,600.88. Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.38% to 8,121.7, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.78% to 38,017.59.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.63% to 2,766.35. Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.78% to 18,572.35, and Shenzhen’s SZI climbed by 0.09% to 8,091.09.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.15% to 42,124.65. NASDAQ gained 0.14% to 17,974.27, and S&P 500 surged by 0.28% to 5,718.57. VIX slumped by 1.61% to 15.89.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Monday due to concerns over demand, which were exacerbated by unsatisfactory eurozone business activity and a sluggish Chinese economy. Brent futures dropped 59 cents or 0.8% to $73.90 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 63 cents or 0.9% to $70.37 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures rose 37 cents or 0.5% to $74.27 a barrel, and the WTI edged up 39 cents or 0.55% to $70.76 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures contracted by 0.02% to $2,651.9 per Troy ounce.
