On Thursday morning (17 July, 9:32 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a mixed performance as investors digested another decline in Japan’s exports and weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements that he has no immediate plans to remove the Federal Reserve chief.
Japanese exports declined by 0.5% in June compared to a year earlier, marking a second month of contraction after a 1.7% decrease in May. The figures fell short of market expectations, which predicted a 0.5% uptick, and reflected ongoing challenges for the Asian country in trade negotiations with the United States.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed speculation that he plans to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, shortly after reportedly telling Republican lawmakers he would do so. There are no current plans to dismiss Powell, though the president did not entirely rule out the possibility.
Meanwhile, Trump also reiterated that a 25% tariff remains in place on Japanese imports to the U.S. and indicated that he does not expect to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with Japan.
Japan’s NIKKEI dipped by 0.27% to 39,557.28. South Korea’s KOSPI fell by 0.46% to 3,171.82, while Australia’s ASX 200 surged by 0.72% to 8,623.8.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.07% to 3,506.2. Hong Kong’s HSI rose by 0.21% to 24,570.23, and Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.81% to 10,807.24.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 0.53% to 44,254.78. NASDAQ gained 0.25% to 20,730.49, and S&P 500 added 0.32% to 6,263.7. VIX slumped by 1.27% to 17.16.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday, pressured by rising U.S. fuel inventories and renewed worries over the broader economic fallout from U.S. tariffs, which overshadowed indications of growing demand. Brent futures declined 19 cents or 0.3% to $68.52 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased 14 cents or 0.2% to $66.38 per barrel.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels and distillate inventories jumped 4.2 million barrels, both well above expectations. Crude oil inventories, on the other hand, dropped by 3.9 million barrels, a larger decline than analysts had predicted.
This morning, Brent futures expanded 27 cents or 0.39% to $68.79 a barrel, and the WTI futures escalated 34 cents or 0.51% to $66.72 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures were down by 0.42% to $3,345.1 per Troy ounce.
