On Friday (2 October, 9:25 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia-Pacific showed a mixed performance, following an increase in oil prices driven by escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, reigniting worries about potential inflationary pressures.
Crude futures continued their upward movement after news emerged that the United States is deploying an additional aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East. The development, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, has kept geopolitical risks in focus for energy markets.
Attention is turning to the release of September’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls later in the day. Market consensus expects an employment increase of 84,000, with unemployment anticipated to remain at 4.1%. The data is seen as critical for shaping expectations around the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
Currently, trading in fed funds futures indicates a 72 percent probability that the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged in October.
Notably, Chinese equity markets continue to be closed for a holiday.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.83% to 68,384.07. South Korea’s KOSPI increased by 0.18% to 6,983.91, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.35% to 8,644.40. Hong Kong’s HSI lost 2.95% to 23,886.83.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.04% to 50,926.56. NASDAQ climbed by 0.04% to 26,871.59, and S&P 500 added 0.19% to 7,666.45. VIX gained 0.31% to 16.39.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday following a report indicating an increase in U.S. military presence in the Middle East and China’s decision to halt exports of oil products, intensifying market concerns over potential supply disruptions. December Brent crude, now the most actively traded contract, ended the session at $102.31 per barrel, advancing by $4.28 or 4.37%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $92.87 per barrel, marking a gain of $2.45, or 2.71%.
This morning, Brent futures edged up 4 cents, or 0.04%, to $102.35 per barrel, and WTI futures slid 9 cents, or 0.10%, to $92.78 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures fell by 0.44% to $4,183.90 per Troy ounce.
