On Wednesday morning (4 June, 9:15 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend, taking cues from a technology-fueled rise on Wall Street, with chipmaker Nvidia in particular driving optimism. Gains were most pronounced in South Korea, where the market surged following opposition leader Lee Jae-myung’s victory in the presidential election.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s consumer price index for May decreased by 0.1% from the previous month and showed a year-over-year slowdown to 1.9%. This represents the slowest pace of growth since December 2024, following April’s 2.1% uptick, and falls below the 2.1% median projection in a Reuters survey of economists.
In Australia, the country’s economic growth came lower than expected, with GDP expanding only 1.3% year over year in the first quarter—falling short of the 1.5% pace expected by economists and matching the previous quarter’s growth. Headwinds from lingering global trade tensions continue to weigh on the country’s outlook.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.91% to 37,788.93. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 2.38% to 2,763.3, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.74% to 8,529.3.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC surged by 0.26% to 3,370.87. Hong Kong’s HSI gained 0.61% to 23,655.92, and Shenzhen’s SZI expanded by 0.66% to 10,123.45.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets edged up on Tuesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) escalated by 0.51% to 42,519.64. NASDAQ soared by 0.81% to 19,398.96, and S&P 500 rose by 0.58% to 5,970.37. VIX dropped by 3.65% to 17.69.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, fueled by ongoing geopolitical tensions involving Russia and Ukraine, as well as the U.S. and Iran. The likelihood of extended sanctions on both OPEC+ nations, Russia and Iran, contributed to the price rally. Brent futures increased $1 or 1.5% to $65.63 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) added 89 cents or 1.4% to $63.41 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures slid 15 cents or 0.23% to $65.48 a barrel, and the WTI futures dipped 17 cents or 0.27% to $63.24 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures surged 0.57% to $3,396.3 per Troy ounce.
