On Wednesday morning (9 July, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific saw mixed performance after President Donald Trump dismissed postponing U.S. tariffs set for August 1. Trump also announced a 50% tariff on copper imports and warned of potential tariffs up to 200% on pharmaceutical imports, though implementation on the latter would be delayed by up to a year and a half.
In China, the country’s producer prices dropped by 3.6% in June compared to a year earlier, the sharpest decline since July 2023, driven by intensifying price competition amid weak consumer demand. The fall was steeper than analysts’ expectations of a 3.2% drop, as shown in a Reuters poll.
On the other hand, consumer prices inched up 0.1% year-on-year in June, signaling tentative improvement after four straight months of declines. The reading slightly surpassed economists’ expectations for no change. Meanwhile, core inflation—which excludes volatile food and energy costs—rose 0.7%, marking the fastest pace in 14 months.
Japan’s NIKKEI climbed by 0.03% to 39,700.12. South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 0.51% to 3,130.71, while Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 0.29% to 8,565.9.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.23% to 3,505.39. Shenzhen’s SZI gained 0.34% to 10,624.41, while Hong Kong’s HSI declined by 0.78% to 23,958.62.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.37% to 44,240.76. S&P 500 slid by 0.07% to 6,225.52, while NASDAQ expanded by 0.03% to 20,418.46. VIX slumped by 5.51% to 16.81.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, supported by expectations of lower U.S. supply output, renewed tensions in the Red Sea, concerns over new U.S. tariffs on copper imports, and short covering by traders. Brent futures increased 57 cents or 0.8% to $70.15 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 40 cents or 0.6% to $68.33 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dipped 12 cents or 0.17% to $70.03 a barrel, and the WTI futures lost 15 cents or 0.22% to $68.18 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures contracted by 0.26% to $3,308.4 per Troy ounce.
