On Monday morning (3 March, 9:15 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific increased as investors awaited further details regarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming tariff measures on significant U.S. trading allies, with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as per reports, indicating on Sunday to Fox News that the specific tariff amounts set to be imposed on Mexico and Canada as of Tuesday are still subject to change, potentially being lower than the initially suggested 25%. However, he confirmed that the extra 10% tax on imports from China remains unchanged.
In China, the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the country stood at 50.4 in February, on par with the preceding month’s figure of 50.6. Additionally, the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI for February recorded a reading of 50.8, surpassing Reuters’ forecast of 50.3 and January’s 50.1 reading.
Meanwhile, markets in South Korea were closed for a public holiday.
Japan’s NIKKEI jumped by 1% to 37,528.59, and Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 0.49% to 8,212.2.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.46% to 3,336.29. Hong Kong’s HSI soared by 1.53% to 23,292.79, and Shenzhen’s SZI added 0.94% to 10,710.78.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged by 1.39% to 43,840.91. NASDAQ gained 1.63% to 18,847.28, and S&P 500 expanded by 1.59% to 5,954.5. VIX slumped by 7.1% to 19.63.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday amid traders’ preparations for the imposition of new tariffs by the U.S. and Iraq’s announcement to recommence oil shipments from the Kurdistan area. Furthermore, ambiguity regarding OPEC’s upcoming production resumption scheduled for April, along with sustained negotiations to conclude the conflict in Ukraine, also influenced market confidence. Brent futures for May dropped 86 cents or 1.16% to $73.18 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for April lost 59 cents or 0.84% to $69.76 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures escalated 75 cents or 1.03% to $73.56 a barrel, and the WTI grew 74 cents or 1.06% to $70.5 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures jumped 1.23% to $2,883.4 per Troy ounce.
