On Tuesday morning (16 December, 9:11 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific extended losses along with Wall Street as investors continued selling stocks related to artificial intelligence.
According to preliminary data from S&P Global, Australia’s business activity growth eased in December, as the composite purchasing managers index declined to 51.1 from 52.6 in November.
In Japan, the preliminary composite PMI for December showed a more moderate pace of growth, registering 51.5, down from 52 in the prior month.
Japan’s NIKKEI slumped by 1.27% to 49,528.60. South Korea’s KOSPI plummeted by 1.62% to 4,024.26, and Australia’s ASX 200 dipped by 0.13% to 8,623.80.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC dropped by 0.93% to 3,831.88. Shenzhen’s SZI declined by 1.04% to 12,976.32, and Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 1.30% to 25,296.19.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank by 0.09% to 48,416.56. NASDAQ lost 0.59% to 23,057.41, and S&P 500 diminished by 0.16% to 6,816.51. VIX increased by 4.83% to 16.50.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Monday as market participants weighed heightened U.S.-Venezuelan tensions—which have sparked fears of supply disruptions—against ongoing concerns about global oversupply and the possible effects of a prospective Russia-Ukraine peace agreement. Brent crude futures finished 56 cents lower, or 0.92%, at $60.56 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $56.82 per barrel, marking a drop of 62 cents, or 1.08%.
This morning, Brent crude futures decreased 39 cents, or 0.64%, to $60.17 per barrel, and the WTI lost 37 cents, or 0.65%, to $56.45 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures remained relatively unchanged at $4,335.00 per Troy ounce.
