On Friday (4 September, 9:19 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in the Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend, following a positive session on Wall Street that was driven by a downturn in U.S. Treasury yields.
The market’s upbeat tone in the region came as the Japanese yen recorded a significant rebound, appreciating roughly 2% on Thursday after weeks of weakening. Investors shifted expectations toward possible policy tightening by the Bank of Japan, with many monitoring closely for potential intervention by authorities to further stabilize the currency.
In the United States, share prices rose as yields on government bonds retreated, after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated he favored maintaining the current federal funds rate in the upcoming September policy meeting at the current range of 3.5% to 3.75%, provided that inflation keeps progressing towards the central bank’s 2% target.
Market participants are also awaiting the release of the August employment report, which could influence sentiment. Consensus forecasts suggest an increase of 53,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, following a decline of 23,000 positions in July, while the unemployment rate is expected to reach 4.1%.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged 0.60% to 64,601.37. South Korea’s KOSPI advanced by 1.07% to 6,650.00, while Australia’s ASX 200 slid by 0.14% to 9,007.30.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.89% to 3,977.31. Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 1.04% to 13,767.02, and Hong Kong’s HSI jumped by 2.10% to 25,742.93.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) increased by 1.18% to 53,686.11. NASDAQ added 1.40% to 26,584.06, and S&P 500 gained 1.06% to 7,747.71. VIX plummeted by 5.79% to 14.32.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday amid mixed signals over geopolitical tensions. U.S. military action against Iran and heightened rhetoric from Israel lent support to prices, while Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated openness to pursue peace discussions with Ukraine. Brent crude futures eased by 11 cents to conclude at $95.52 per barrel, a decline of 0.12%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 29 cents, ending the session at $91.30, an increase of 0.32%.
This morning, Brent futures rose 44 cents, or 0.46%, to $95.96 per barrel, and the WTI futures surged 63 cents, or 0.69%, to $91.93 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures declined by 0.33% to $4,524.80 per Troy ounce.
