On Monday morning (24 March, 9:26 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend amidst the approaching April 2 tariff deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to local media reports, South Korea’s Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, restoring him to the role of acting president. He is set to assume the position from the current acting president and finance minister, Choi Sang-mok.
Meanwhile, in China, Premier Li Qiang emphasized at a business forum in Beijing the importance of nations opening up their markets to tackle growing instability to confront risks and challenges in the current global landscape.
In the U.S. last Friday, the three main indices ended on a positive note, recovering from earlier lows following President Trump’s remarks about possible flexibility on tariffs. Despite this, Trump reaffirmed the deadline of April 2 for reciprocal tariffs.
South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.2% to 2,637.93. Australia’s ASX 200 decreased by 0.07% to 7,925.3, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.04% to 37,693.78.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC escalated by 0.15% to 3,369.87. Hong Kong’s HSI added 0.1% to 23,713.53, and Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.25% to 10,714.34.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew by 0.08% to 41,985.35. NASDAQ gained 0.52% to 17,784.05, and S&P 500 expanded by 0.08% to 5,667.56. VIX slumped by 2.63% to 19.28.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday, driven by recent U.S. sanctions on Iran and a revised plan by OPEC+ for seven nations to reduce output, fueling expectations of a constrained oil supply. Brent futures increased 16 cents or 0.22% to $72.16 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged 21 cents or 0.31% to $68.28 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures lost 25 cents or 0.35% to $71.91 a barrel, and the WTI declined 19 cents or 0.28% to $68.09 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures climbed 0.19% to $3,027 per Troy ounce.
