On Monday morning (13 January, 9:28 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific decreased across the region following the release of the U.S. jobs report last Friday, which dashed investors’ expectations of an early interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve.
In December, U.S. payrolls expanded by 256,000, surpassing economists’ forecast of 155,000, as per a survey conducted by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, missing the projected 4.2%. Additionally, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note surged to its peak level since the end of 2023 following the report.
China is set to unveil its trade figures for December, with market participants in Asia attentively monitoring Chinese bond rates after the central bank halted government bond acquisitions last Friday. China’s 10-year bond yield plummeted to an all-time low earlier this month. Moreover, The world’s second-largest economy is scheduled to disclose its fourth-quarter 2024 GDP data, as well as retail sales and industrial production statistics, this Friday.
During the week, traders will also pay attention to a slew of economic data, including India’s inflation, Bank of Korea’s meeting, and Australia’s unemployment rate for December.
Meanwhile, Japan markets were closed for a holiday.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 0.97% to 2,491.41, and Australia’s ASX 200 slumped by 1.38% to 8,179.5.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 0.69% to 3,146.53. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 1.94% to 18,695.09, and Shenzhen’s SZI slid by 0.12% to 9,784.42.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 1.63% to 41,938.45. NASDAQ contracted by 1.63% to 19,161.63, and S&P 500 lost 1.54% to 5,827.04. VIX soared by 8.14% to 19.54.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday following the U.S. Treasury Department’s unveiling of comprehensive sanctions aimed at Russia’s oil sector. The sanctions specifically focus on Russian oil firms Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, along with their affiliated companies, over 180 oil tankers, and a dozen Russian energy officials and business leaders. Brent futures added $2.84 or 3.69% to $79.76 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) grew $2.65 or 3.58% to $76.57 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures rose $1.41 or 1.77% to $81.17 a barrel, and the WTI surged $1.48 or 1.93% to $78.05 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed 0.15% to $2,719.1 per Troy ounce.
