On Wednesday morning (8 January, 9:37 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific decreased and were in line with the negative trend on Wall Street. This came after Treasury yields climbed and prominent U.S. technology shares fell.
In Australia, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on an annualized basis increased by 2.3%, slightly surpassing the forecast of 2.2% by Reuters.
As per the Australian Bureau of Statistics, elevated prices in food and non-alcoholic beverages primarily drove the increase, although decreases in electricity and automotive fuel costs mitigated the overall inflationary trend.
South Korea’s KOSPI escalated by 1.26% to 2,523.61. Australia’s ASX 200 surged by 0.62% to 8,336.7, while Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.41% to 39,919.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC dipped by 0.14% to 3,225.1. Hong Kong’s HSI declined by 0.53% to 19,343.72, and Shenzhen’s SZI slumped by 0.94% to 9,904.46.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.42% to 42,528.36. NASDAQ contracted by 1.89% to 19,489.68, and S&P 500 lost 1.11% to 5,909.03. VIX soared by 11.1% to 17.82.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday due to concerns about reduced supply from Russia and Iran as a result of Western sanctions, coupled with anticipated increased demand from China. Brent futures added 75 cents or 0.98% to $77.05 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased 69 cents or 0.94% to $74.25 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures gained 22 cents or 0.29% to $77.27 a barrel, and the WTI expanded 32 cents or 0.43% to $74.57 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid 0.15% to $2,661.5 per Troy ounce.
