On Friday morning (31 January, 9:37 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific increased following a rise on Wall Street, with investors analyzing the latest Big Tech earnings reports. Meanwhile, traders also digested various economic indicators across the region.
In January, the consumer price index in Tokyo, excluding fresh food, surged by 2.5% year on year, up from 2.4% in the previous month. This aligns with estimates provided by Reuters.
In December, Japan’s unemployment rate declined to 2.4% from 2.5% in the previous month, falling short of the projected 2.5% by Reuters.
Retail sales for December expanded by 3.7% compared to the previous year, whilst industrial output for the same month saw a month-on-month growth of 0.3%, following a decline of 2.2% in November.
In Australia, the country’s producer price index increased by 3.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The markets in Hong Kong and China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Japan’s NIKKEI climbed by 0.1% to 39,554.38. Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.43% to 8,530.1, while South Korea’s KOSPI slumped by 1.15% to 2,507.66.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.38% to 44,882.13. NASDAQ increased by 0.25% to 19,681.75, and S&P 500 gained 0.53% to 6,071.17. VIX plummeted by 4.35% to 15.84.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday, as the market was tempered by impending U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican crude imports that may come into force over the weekend. Brent futures added 29 cents or 0.4% to $76.87 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) escalated 11 cents or 0.2% to $72.73 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures expanded 45 cents or 0.59% to $77.32 a barrel, and the WTI surged 65 cents or 0.89% to $73.38 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed 0.19% to $2,850.6 per Troy ounce.