On Wednesday morning (17 Jan, 9:30 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific contracted as China’s GDP in 4Q23 rose by 5.2%, which missed its mark from an economists’ poll by Reuters of 5.3%. Retail sales for December rose 7.4% from a year earlier, also missing expectations for 8% growth. Meanwhile, investors awaited the Reuters Tankan manufacturing index for January.
Australia’s ASX 200 slid by 0.2% to 7,399.9. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped by 1.57% to 2,458.42, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.74% to 35,882.26.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC decreased by 0.77% to 2,871.68. Shenzhen’s SZI edged down by 0.98% to 8,903.86, and Hong Kong’s HSI slumped by 2.39% to 15,485.99.
Meanwhile, the US stocks market declined on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 0.62% to 37,361.12. NASDAQ edged down by 0.19% to 14,944.35, and S&P 500 fell by 0.37% to 4,765.98. VIX increased by 4.45% to 13.84.
As for commodities, oil prices saw little change on Tuesday as the US dollar hit a one-month high, and warmer weather in the country could moderate the demand for heating oil. Brent increased by 0.2% to $78.29 per barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by 0.4% to $72.40 a barrel.
This morning, Brent slid by 0.59% to $77.83 a barrel, and WTI dropped by 0.73% to $71.87 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures increased by 0.15% to $2,033.3 per Troy ounce.
