On Friday morning (19 September, 9:17 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific showed a mixed performance as investors digested inflation data from Japan ahead of the Bank of Japan’s rate decision, with expectations for the bank to maintain the policy rates steady at 0.5%.
Japan’s core inflation rate eased for a third consecutive month, reaching 2.7% in August. The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, matched the 2.7% forecast by economists surveyed by Reuters. Headline inflation also retreated, falling to 2.7% in August from 3.1% in July. Both declines marked the lowest readings since November 2024.
Japan’s NIKKEI increased by 0.81% to 45,669.54. Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 0.72% to 8,808.3, while South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 0.51% to 3,443.55.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI climbed by 0.01% to 26,547.65. Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.25% to 13,108.08, while Shanghai’s SSEC shrank by 0.21% to 3,823.48.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added 0.27% to 46,142.42. NASDAQ gained 0.94% to 22,470.72, and S&P 500 expanded by 0.48% to 6,631.96. VIX slid by 0.13% to 15.7.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday, with traders expressing continued concern over the U.S. economic outlook in the aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate reduction. Brent crude futures dropped 51 cents, or 0.8%, to close at $67.44 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled 48 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $63.57.
This morning, Brent futures dipped 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $67.38 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 9 cents, or 0.14%, to $63.48 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures contracted 0.15% to $3,672.6 per Troy ounce.
