On Friday morning (24 January, 9:49 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific increased following the S&P 500’s unprecedented peak, triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump advocating for reduced interest rates and more affordable oil costs.
In Japan, the core inflation rate in December surged to a 16-month high at 3% on a yearly basis, heightening expectations for a rate hike from the Bank of Japan. The CPI data was released prior to the BOJ’s monetary policy gathering today, with analysts anticipating a rate increase to the highest level in 17 years.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged by 0.59% to 40,192.85. South Korea’s KOSPI escalated by 0.69% to 2,532.8, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.39% to 8,411.4.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC expanded by 0.31% to 3,240.18. Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 1.58% to 20,011.48, and Shenzhen’s SZI rose by 0.68% to 10,245.4.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added by 0.92% to 44,565.07. NASDAQ gained 0.22% to 20,053.68, and S&P 500 increased by 0.53% to 6,118.71. VIX declined by 0.53% to 15.02.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday following President Donald Trump’s call for Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce prices, with claims that their high oil prices were worsening the situation in Ukraine. He suggested that global crude prices could facilitate an end to the conflict if lowered. Brent futures lost 71 cents or 0.9% to $78.29 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 82 cents or 1.09% to $74.62 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures fell 11 cents or 0.14% to $78.18 a barrel, and the WTI contracted 13 cents or 0.17% to $74.49 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged up 0.52% to $2,779.3 per Troy ounce.
