On Friday morning (23 May, 9:31 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific increased as investors analyzed various economic indicators across the region.
Japan witnessed an increase in core inflation to 3.5% in April, driven partly by a surge in rice prices, prompting the central bank to consider a pause in its rate-hike strategy to evaluate the impact of U.S. tariffs.
In South Korea, producer prices in April slowed to a year-on-year growth of 0.9%, down from 1.3% in March, while on a monthly basis, the PPI declined by 0.1% after remaining unchanged for two consecutive months.
Additional economic data releases are anticipated later in the day, with Singapore expected to unveil inflation figures for April and Taiwan to disclose industrial output data.
On the trade front, the United States and China have agreed to uphold communication channels, as confirmed following a discussion between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and U.S. Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In addition, the statement mentioned that both parties exchanged views on key topics during the call, without providing further details.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.76% to 37,265.23. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.18% to 8,363.6, while South Korea’s KOSPI slid by 0.02% to 2,593.2.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC added by 0.1% to 3,383.53. Hong Kong’s HSI surged by 0.47% to 23,656.06, and Shenzhen’s SZI grew by 0.39% to 10,259.54.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were mixed on Thursday as NASDAQ edged up by 0.28% to 18,925.73. S&P 500 dipped by 0.04% to 5,842.01, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank slightly to 41,859.09. VIX slumped by 2.83% to 20.28.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday amid rising investor concern about global supply potentially outpacing demand growth after OPEC+ is deliberating a production boost for July. Brent futures declined 47 cents or 0.72% to $64.44 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) decreased 37 cents or 0.6% to $61.20 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures contracted 46 cents or 0.71% to $63.98 a barrel, and the WTI futures lost 48 cents or 0.78% to $60.72 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.03% to $3,296.1 per Troy ounce.
