On Wednesday (22 July, 9:24 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in the Asia Pacific increased, with South Korea’s Kospi outperforming regional markets. The gains came as investors assessed the implications of fresh U.S. military actions against Iran and ongoing diplomatic initiatives to bring about a ceasefire, maintaining a spotlight on the Middle East’s continued impact on global energy markets.
South Korean equities surged, with the Kospi climbing over 6% and posting a two-day rally close to 10%, as a wave of deleveraging in leveraged ETF positions showed signs of subsiding.
According to JPMorgan Chase strategists, approximately three-quarters of these leveraged positions have now been unwound. The Korea Exchange implemented a temporary halt on program trading purchases as a volatility control amid the sharp rebound.
Market participants tracked developments in technology valuations amid heightened expectations for AI-related growth. As the earnings season intensified, focus turned to whether robust demand in artificial intelligence infrastructure and software would help sustain current price levels, particularly in technology stocks.
Traders prepared for a series of major U.S. earnings announcements scheduled for the day, including reports from ServiceNow, IBM, Tesla, Texas Instruments, Alphabet, and AT&T. The results are expected to offer insights into corporate technology investment, the pace of AI-related expenditure, demand for cloud services, and projections for the remainder of the year.
In key economic data out of Japan, export figures for June revealed a 19.3% year-on-year expansion, the strongest pace since late 2022. The surge, driven by higher overseas sales of semiconductor equipment and a weaker yen, exceeded market forecasts and outperformed May’s results of 18.6% and 16.8%, respectively.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 1.71% to 67,364.56. South Korea’s KOSPI soared by 5.68% to 7,131.43, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.21% to 8,812.20.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC advanced by 0.24% to 3,873.74. Shenzhen’s SZI expanded by 0.22% to 14,296.07, while Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 0.40% to 25,032.24.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.74% to 52,224.64. NASDAQ jumped by 1.29% to 25,837.20, and S&P 500 added 0.89% to 7,509.20. VIX fell by 8.58% to 17.05.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as traders grew increasingly concerned about the risk of further supply disruptions arising from escalating tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude contracts increased by $1.79, marking a 2% rise to $91.01 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures also moved higher, up $1.68 or 2%, ending the session at $84.91 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures for September surged $1.18, or 1.30%, to $92.19 per barrel, and the WTI futures for September increased 87 cents, or 1.03%, to $85.21 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures escalated by 1.23% to $4,126.40 per Troy ounce.
