On Tuesday morning (3 February, 9:21 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia Pacific increased across the board, driven by news of a new trade agreement between the United States and India that includes tariff reductions and changes to Indian oil imports.
U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed that a deal had been reached with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will see both Washington and New Delhi begin trimming tariffs on goods from each side. In his social media post following a conversation with Modi, Trump indicated that New Delhi had committed to increasing purchases of American-made products.
As part of the agreement, India will cease imports of Russian crude and boost procurement from U.S. and potentially Venezuelan suppliers. Trump also specified plans to lower tariffs on Indian goods to 18% as a result of India’s pledge to end Russian oil imports.
Market reactions were swift in South Korea, where the Kospi index surged by as much as 5% during the session, triggering a buy-sidecar mechanism after KOSPI 200 futures surpassed the 5% threshold for over a minute. The Korea Exchange noted that a similar intervention occurred in the previous session when futures fell by the same margin, temporarily suspending trading.
In addition, investor focus shifted to Australia as the nation’s central bank is expected to increase its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.85%.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 2.96% to 54,213.85. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 4.55% to 5,174.96, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 1.08% to 8,873.80.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC surged by 0.57% to 4,038.81. Shenzhen’s SZI expanded by 1.07% to 13,972.57, and Hong Kong’s HSI advanced by 0.68% to 26,956.83.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 1.05% to 49,407.66. NASDAQ escalated by 0.56% to 23,592.10, and S&P 500 increased by 0.54% to 6,976.44. VIX plummeted by 6.31% to 16.34.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Monday after President Donald Trump indicated that discussions with Iran on easing tensions were advancing, hinting at a possible reduction in geopolitical risks for energy markets. Crude was further weighed down by a strengthening U.S. dollar and forecasts for milder weather.
U.S. and Iranian officials confirmed plans to resume nuclear discussions in Turkey on Friday. Trump also cautioned that the absence of an agreement could bring serious consequences amid the deployment of large American naval vessels near Iran. Brent crude futures closed $3.02 lower at $66.30 per barrel, down 4.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped by $3.07, a decline of 4.7%, finishing at $62.14 per barrel.
This morning, Brent crude futures slid 7 cents, or 0.11%, to $66.23 per barrel, and the WTI remained unchanged at $62.14 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures soared 3.85% to $4,831.70 per Troy ounce.
