On Monday morning (18 Dec, 9:30 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), Asia Pacific major indices mostly fell as economists expected the Bank of Japan to hold its benchmark rates at the meeting tomorrow.
Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 1.27% to 32,551.38. South Korea’s KOSPI decreased 0.03% to 2,562.73, and Australia’s ASX 200 edged down by 0.42% to 7,411.1.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 0.61% to 16,689.84, and Shenzhen’s SZI slumped by 0.22% to 9,364.57. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.18% to 2,947.87.
Meanwhile, the US stocks market traded mixed on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) edged up by 0.15% to 37,305.16. NASDAQ jumped by 0.35% to 14,813.92, while S&P 500 dropped 0.01% to 4,719.19. VIX decreased by 1.6% to 12.28.
As for commodities, oil prices slid as oil demand outlook for 2024 developed and the dollar weakened.
Brent fell by 0.08% to $76.55 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) edged down by 0.21% to $71.43 a barrel.
As for this morning, oil prices edged higher as Russia announced its oil cuts in December, with shipping uncertainty around the Red Sea.
Brent gained 0.47% to $76.91 a barrel, and WTI grew by 0.45% to $71.75 per barrel. Furthermore, gold futures increased by 0.03% to $2,036.4 per Troy ounce.
