On Wednesday morning (21 May, 9:29 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend following the end of the six-day winning streak on Wall Street. Meanwhile, investors also evaluated trade data from Japan.
The latest data from the Japanese government unveiled a consecutive slowdown in the nation’s exports for the second month, attributing it to the significant impact of the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
With export growth at 2%, matching the forecasts by analysts surveyed by Reuters, it marked the slowest pace since October last year and the most dismal result since September when exports had contracted by 1.7%. As for imports, the figure experienced a 2.2% decline from the previous year, falling below the projected 4.5% drop.
The Bank of Indonesia is scheduled to announce its policy decision. After reducing policy rates in September 2024 and January 2025, the bank has maintained rates at 5.75% since then, as highlighted in a report by HSBC.
South Korea’s KOSPI added by 0.7% to 2,619.9. Australia’s ASX 200 escalated by 0.93% to 8,420.5, while Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.14% to 37,476.87.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC rose by 0.17% to 3,386.15. Hong Kong’s HSI grew by 0.53% to 23,805.89, and Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 0.14% to 10,262.99.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged down on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.27% to 42,677.24. NASDAQ lost 0.38% to 19,142.71, and S&P 500 dipped by 0.39% to 5,940.46. VIX fell by 0.28% to 18.09.
As for commodities, oil prices settled slightly lower on Tuesday amid the uncertainty surrounding negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, as well as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Additionally, slowing industrial output growth and retail sales in China added further strain on oil prices, as analysts anticipated a decrease in fuel demand from the nation. Brent futures dropped 16 cents or 0.2% to $65.38 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for June declined 13 cents or 0.2% to $62.56 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures gained $1.14 or 1.74% to $66.52 a barrel, and the WTI futures for July expanded $1.15 or 1.85% to $63.18 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures increased 0.37% to $3,296.6 per Troy ounce.
