On Wednesday morning (12 March, 9:31 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend, diverging from the volatile activity seen on Wall Street. The uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff proposals and concerns about a potential recession in the U.S. contributed to the market fluctuations.
The White House officially announced the implementation of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and other countries, effective from Wednesday in the United States. However, it was clarified that President Trump has decided against increasing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum to 50%.
Meanwhile, India is set to unveil its inflation data for February, with analysts surveyed by Reuters anticipating a decrease to 3.98% from January’s 5.68%.
Japan’s NIKKEI climbed by 0.09% to 36,824.54. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 1.48% to 2,575.16, while Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 1.22% to 7,793.5.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI added 0.03% to 23,788.16. Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.11% to 10,872.53, while Shanghai’s SSEC dipped by 0.06% to 3,377.86.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) slumped by 1.14% to 41,433.48. NASDAQ declined by 0.18% to 17,436.1, and S&P 500 lost 0.75% to 5,572.07. VIX decreased by 3.37% to 26.92.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, supported by a weakening dollar. However, concerns about a potential economic downturn in the U.S. and the repercussions of tariffs on worldwide economic expansion limited the gains. Brent futures rose 28 cents or 0.4% to $69.56 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased 22 cents or 0.3% to $66.25 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures surged 50 cents or 0.72% to $70.06 a barrel, and the WTI gained 53 cents or 0.8% to $66.78 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed 0.01% to $2,921.3 per Troy ounce.
