On Monday morning (13 May, 9:18 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific fell as investors digested stronger-than-expected April inflation data from China. The country’s CPI grew 0.3% compared to the same period last year, beating Reuters’ poll of 0.2% rise, while the PPI dropped 2.5% year-on-year, larger than an expectation of 2.3% decrease. Investors also awaited Japan’s 1Q24 GDP announcement coming this week.
Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.35% to 38,095.49. South Korea’s KOSPI decreased by 0.34% to 2,718.38, and Australia’s ASX 200 fell by 0.12% to 7,739.7.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 0.74% to 3,131.31. Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.82% to 9,650.93, and Hong Kong’s HSI lost 0.56% to 18,858.35.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were mixed on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.32% to 39,512.84. S&P 500 grew by 0.16% to 5,222.68, while NASDAQ slid by 0.03% to 16,340.87. VIX slumped by 1.1% to 12.55.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Friday as the US Federal Reserve hinted that it would likely not cut interest rates until the final months of the year, which could slow down crude demand from the US. Meanwhile, the strengthening US dollar was also another factor affecting oil prices. Brent futures lost $1.09, or 1.3%, to $82.79 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped $1, or 1.26%, to $78.26.
This morning, Brent declined 49 cents or 0.59% to $82.3 a barrel, and the WTI fell 45 cents or 0.58% to $77.81 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged down by 0.46% to $2,364.1 per Troy ounce.
