On Thursday morning (2 October, 9:10 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend, driven by gains in technology shares after OpenAI secured an agreement with South Korean chipmakers, fueling optimism around artificial intelligence.
Markets in Japan, South Korea, and Australia advanced, with chip stocks posting notable increases in the wake of the news, and South Korea’s Kospi reaching an all-time intraday high. Hong Kong futures signaled a strong start as markets reopened following a holiday.
The ongoing enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and significant corporate investments have underpinned the rally in equities, overcoming April’s decline. Investors have largely looked past the U.S. political deadlock that has triggered the first government shutdown in seven years, which could disrupt key economic data needed for Fed policy decisions.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.62% to 44,828.97. South Korea’s KOSPI soared by 3.04% to 3,560.72, and Australia’s ASX 200 jumped by 1.24% to 8,955.8.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.52% to 3,882.77. Hong Kong’s HSI increased by 1.22% to 27,184.18, and Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.35% to 13,526.50.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) expanded by 0.09% to 46,441.1. NASDAQ gained 0.42% to 22,755.15, and S&P 500 added 0.34% to 6,711.2. VIX surged by 0.06% to 16.29.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday, reaching their lowest levels in 16 weeks, as concerns over a U.S. government shutdown heightened fears about the global economic outlook. Market sentiment was further pressured by expectations that OPEC+ will increase output next month, potentially adding to supply. Brent crude settled at $65.35 a barrel, dropping 1%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed at $61.78, down 0.9%.
This morning, Brent futures climbed 32 cents, or 0.49%, to $65.67 a barrel, and the WTI escalated 31 cents, or 0.5%, to $62.09 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures fell by 0.19% to $3,889.9 per Troy ounce.
