On Thursday morning (23 May, 9:21 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific decreased after the US Federal Reserve signaled less possibility for rate cuts following persistent inflation. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea kept its benchmark policy rate steady at 3.5%, in line with expectations polled by Reuters. Investors also monitored PMI data from Australia and Japan.
South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.24% to 2,717. Australia’s ASX 200 dropped by 0.73% to 7,791.1, while Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.56% to 38,833.76.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC declined by 1.01% to 3,126.49. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 1.23% to 9,574.07, and Hong Kong’s HSI slumped by 2% to 18,810.85.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.51% to 39,671.04. NASDAQ decreased by 0.18% to 16,801.54, and S&P 500 lost 0.27% to 5,307.01. VIX jumped by 3.63% to 12.29.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday as data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicated rising oil supply from the US ahead of OPEC meeting in June. Brent futures dropped 98 cents or 1.18% to $81.90 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid $1.09 or 1.39% to $77.57.
This morning, Brent futures slid 56 cents or 0.68% to $81.34 a barrel, and the WTI edged down 62 cents or 0.8% to $76.95 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures contracted by 0.81% to $2,373.6 per Troy ounce.
