On Thursday morning (31 October, 9:26 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors digested key data from China and Japan, while also monitoring the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision.
According to economists surveyed by Reuters, the BOJ is anticipated to maintain rates at 0.25%, while market participants will closely analyze the statement for hints regarding the potential timing of the next rate increase.
Japan’s retail sales in September increased by 0.5% compared to the previous year, a significant decrease from the adjusted 3.1% growth in August, representing the slowest growth rate since February 2022 and falling short of the 2.3% forecasted by economists surveyed by Reuters.
Meanwhile, in China, the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index stood at 50.1, a shift into expansion territory for the first time since April. This result exceeded predictions from a Reuters survey of 49.9.
Japan’s NIKKEI decreased by 0.43% to 39,109.19. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 1.06% to 2,566.4, and Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 0.48% to 8,141.1.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.17% to 3,271.64. Hong Kong’s HSI rose by 0.48% to 20,477.92, and Shenzhen’s SZI increased by 0.41% to 10,574.05.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) slid by 0.22% to 42,141.54. NASDAQ declined by 0.56% to 18,607.93, and S&P 500 lost 0.33% to 5,813.67. VIX jumped by 5.22% to 20.35.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday following the release of data indicating an unforeseen decline in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles last week. Additionally, reports suggesting that OPEC+ might postpone a scheduled oil production boost contributed to the surge. Brent futures increased $1.43 or 2.01% to $72.55 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew $1.4 or 2.08% to $68.61 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures surged 24 cents or 0.33% to $72.79 a barrel, and the WTI climbed 22 cents or 0.32% to $68.83 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dipped 0.16% to $2,796.3 per Troy ounce.
