On Monday morning (6 January, 9:18 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a downward trend while investors monitored business activity data from several important economies in the region, including China, Hong Kong, and India.
China is set to release the Caixin services PMI from S&P Global, while market participants are keen on observing the market response in the country following the central bank’s announcement over the weekend regarding a planned “moderately loose” monetary policy for the year 2025.
In Hong Kong, the PMI showed a decrease in December compared to the previous month. Additionally, India is scheduled to release its December PMI data on Monday.
Meanwhile, in South Korea, reports emerged over the weekend indicating that the head of the presidential security service refused to cooperate with attempts to arrest impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol. An unsuccessful attempt to apprehend Yoon on charges of insurrection took place last Friday, leading to a deadlock between investigators and presidential security personnel.
South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 1.44% to 2,477.12. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.05% to 8,254.6, while Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 1.28% to 39,383.76.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC fell by 0.63% to 3,191.23. Hong Kong’s HSI declined by 0.54% to 19,653.38, and Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.26% to 9,871.09.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added by 0.8% to 42,732.13. NASDAQ gained 1.77% to 19,621.68, and S&P 500 expanded by 1.26% to 5,942.47. VIX plummeted by 10.04% to 16.13.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday, supported by anticipations of additional economic stimulus in China and a potential interest rate reduction in the U.S. Brent futures surged 58 cents or 0.76% to $76.51 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 83 cents or 1.13% to $73.96 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures increased 13 cents or 0.17% to $76.64 a barrel, and the WTI grew 16 cents or 0.22% to $74.12 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed 0.05% to $2,655.9 per Troy ounce.
