On Friday morning (29 November, 9:29 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors analyzed Tokyo’s November inflation data and South Korea’s industrial production figures.
In Tokyo, the headline inflation rate for November surged to 2.6%, up from October’s 1.8%. In addition, core inflation, excluding fresh food costs, increased to 2.2%, surpassing Reuters’ expected 2.1%.
As for South Korea, the country’s industrial production in October witnessed a rise of 2.3% on a year-on-year basis, signaling a turnaround from the 1.3% decline noted in September.
Meanwhile, the U.S. markets were shut for Thanksgiving on Thursday and will operate for a half day on Friday.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.44% to 38,180.52. South Korea’s KOSPI slumped by 1.73% to 2,461.34, and Australia’s ASX 200 contracted by 0.35% to 8,414.7.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.38% to 3,308.06. Hong Kong’s HSI climbed by 0.09% to 19,383.88, and Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.39% to 10,473.4.
As for commodities, oil prices slightly declined in Asian trading on Thursday, following an unexpected increase in U.S. gasoline supplies before the Thanksgiving holiday, raising concerns about demand in the leading consumer of motor fuel. Brent futures dipped 4 cents or 0.1% to $72.79 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid 1 cent or 0.01% to $68.71 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged down 7 cents or 0.1% to $73.21 a barrel, while the WTI added 30 cents or 0.44% to $69.02 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.24% to $2,646.3 per Troy ounce.
