On Thursday morning (6 February, 9:37 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend following a rise on Wall Street, with investors overlooking a turbulent week in the global trade and a series of underwhelming U.S. tech company earnings results.
India’s central bank is anticipated to reduce the key interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.25% during its ongoing policy meeting, in an effort to boost a slowing economy. The outcome of this move is scheduled to be announced on Friday.
In Japan, Bank of Japan board member Tamura Naoki asserted the importance of raising short-term interest rates to a level of “at least around 1%” by the latter part of fiscal year 2025 to mitigate potential price risks and maintain price stability in a consistent and lasting manner.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.1% to 38,870.27. South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 0.66% to 2,525.9, and Australia’s ASX 200 escalated by 1.04% to 8,504.6.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.15% to 3,234.35. Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.52% to 10,217.25, while Hong Kong’s HSI slid by 0.14% to 20,567.43.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) expanded by 0.71% to 44,873.28. NASDAQ increased by 0.19% to 19,692.33, and S&P 500 gained 0.39% to 6,061.48. VIX slumped by 8.37% to 15.77.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday due to a significant increase in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories, indicating a decrease in demand. Additionally, concerns over a potential new trade conflict between China and the U.S. raised apprehensions about a slower economic growth. Brent futures for April lost $1.59 or 2.09% to $74.61 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracted $1.67 or 2.3% to $71.03 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 12 cents or 0.16% to $74.73 a barrel, and the WTI added 18 cents or 0.25% to $71.21 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dipped 0.15% to $2,888.7 per Troy ounce.
