On Wednesday morning (17 September, 9:37 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a varied performance as investors exercised caution ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s critical policy announcement. Wall Street’s overnight losses contributed to the subdued sentiment, with attention focused on whether the Fed will implement an anticipated interest rate cut.
Fresh economic data revealed Japan’s exports dipped by 0.1% year-on-year in August, outperforming economists’ projections of a 1.9% decline in a Reuters survey. This marginal contraction marked an improvement from the 2.6% export drop recorded in July.
Conversely, Singapore reported an 11.3% year-over-year plunge in non-oil domestic exports for August, reflecting significant weakness in sectors such as specialized machinery, food preparations, and petrochemicals. Economists polled by Reuters had anticipated a 1% uptick, while the grim figures follow a revised 4.7% decrease in July.
South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 0.9% to 3,418.5. Australia’s ASX 200 lost 0.65% to 8,820.1, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.13% to 44,960.29.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC fell by 0.19% to 3,854.38. Shenzhen’s SZI slid by 0.03% to 13,059.66, while Hong Kong’s HSI increased by 0.75% to 26,637.36.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined by 0.27% to 45,757.9. NASDAQ contracted by 0.07% to 22,333.95, and S&P 500 shrank by 0.13% to 6,606.76. VIX surged by 4.27% to 16.36.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, buoyed by concerns over potential disruptions to Russian crude flows following Ukrainian drone strikes targeting ports and refineries. Traders also positioned themselves ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s forthcoming interest rate decision. Brent crude futures closed $1.03 higher, or up 1.5%, at $68.47 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $1.22, or 1.9%, finishing the session at $64.52 a barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dipped 9 cents, or 0.13%, to $68.38 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased 8 cents, or 0.12%, to $64.44 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures were down 0.27% to $3,715.2 per Troy ounce.
