On Friday morning (12 Jan, 9:30 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific rose as Japan stocks extended even more gains, while investors looked forward to inflation and trade numbers for December from China.
South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.08% to 2,538.36. Australia’s ASX 200 edged down by 0.15% to 7,494.7, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 1.16% to 35,458.06.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC increased by 0.59% to 2,903.61. Hong Kong’s HSI gained 0.55% to 16,392.14, and Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.39% to 9,089.01.
Meanwhile, the US stocks market was mixed on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.04% to 37,711.02. NASDAQ remained unchanged at 14,970.18, and S&P 500 dropped by 0.07% to 4,780.24. VIX decreased by 1.97% to 12.44.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Thursday as a tanker with Iraqi crude was seized by Iran in retaliation for the confiscation of the same vessel last year, intensifying the conflict in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the US and the UK signaled cautious gestures as they pondered to push further measures if the attacks continued. Brent rose by 0.8% to $77.41 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 0.9% to $72.02 a barrel.
This morning, Brent edged up by 1.96% to $78.93 a barrel, and WTI jumped by 2.05% to $73.5 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures increased by 0.93% to $2,037.9 per Troy ounce.
