On Wednesday morning (30 April, 9:12 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed as investors digested various economic indicators and key data in the region.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has commenced its two-day policy meeting, with analysts anticipating that the central bank will maintain its interest rate at 0.5%.
Australia’s inflation figures for the first quarter show an increase of 2.4% from the previous year, outpacing the 2.3% surge expected in a Reuters poll.
In China, the country’s manufacturing sector faced a more severe decline than anticipated, with the figure coming in at 49.0 for April, slipping into contraction.
As for the U.S., President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that tariff negotiations with India are progressing positively, with hopes for a trade agreement in the future. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that substantial trade discussions are also underway with Japan, with the development of a trade deal with South Korea.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.11% to 35,880.97. Australia’s ASX 200 increased by 0.26% to 8,091.7, while South Korea’s KOSPI contracted by 0.63% to 2,549.16.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.2% to 3,280. Hong Kong’s HSI fell by 0.67% to 21,859.9, while Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.39% to 9,888.32.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) expanded by 0.75% to 40,527.62. NASDAQ gained 0.55% to 17,461.32, and S&P 500 escalated by 0.58% to 5,560.83. VIX slumped by 3.9% to 24.17.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Tuesday as traders prepared for OPEC+ to increase production and expressed concerns about potential impacts from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the global economy, potentially dampening the demand for fuel. Brent futures dropped $1.61 or 2.44% to $64.25 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased $1.63 or 2.63% to $60.42 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dipped 7 cents or 0.11% to $64.18 a barrel, and the WTI declined 14 cents or 0.23% to $60.28 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures lost 0.49% to $3,317.4 per Troy ounce.
