On Wednesday morning (2 July, 9:17 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as market participants weighed recent remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding interest rates.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell conveyed on Tuesday that the central bank would exercise caution before making any decisions on interest rate cuts, citing a need for more clarity on how tariffs are affecting inflation. This approach diverges from President Donald Trump’s public calls for immediate and substantial rate reductions.
While not dismissing the possibility of a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting scheduled for late July, Powell’s remarks led investors to modestly increase their expectations for an upcoming reduction. Attention now turns to Thursday’s jobs report and a fresh set of inflation figures due in two weeks, both of which cover economic data for June and may influence the Fed’s next steps.
Japan’s NIKKEI declined by 1.02% to 39,578.52. South Korea’s KOSPI fell by 1.34% to 3,048.36, while Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.12% to 8,551.7.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.12% to 3,453.68. Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.45% to 10,428.69, while Hong Kong’s HSI surged by 0.45% to 24,179.51.
The U.S. stock markets were mixed on Tuesday as NASDAQ contracted by 0.82% to 20,202.89. S&P 500 dipped by 0.11% to 6,198.01, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.91% to 44,494.94. VIX rose by 0.6% to 16.83.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, buoyed by encouraging signs of demand from a private industry survey in China, indicating that manufacturing activity rebounded into growth territory in June. However, gains were tempered as traders remained watchful ahead of an upcoming OPEC+ meeting that will set the alliance’s production strategy for August. Brent futures increased 37 cents or 0.6% to $67.11 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 34 cents or 0.5% to $65.45 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 9 cents or 0.13% to $67.2 a barrel, and the WTI futures surged 4 cents or 0.06% to $65.49 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures shrank by 0.27% to $3,340.9 per Troy ounce.
