On Thursday morning (5 June, 9:18 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific traded mixed in response to the lowest private sector hiring levels in the U.S. in over two years, fueling concerns about the impact of trade policy uncertainty on Washington.
According to data from ADP, payrolls stood at a mere 37,000 for May, falling short of the downwardly revised 60,000 figure from April and below the 110,000 consensus forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Meanwhile, investors also put focus on the Indian markets with the Reserve Bank of India commencing its two-day policy meeting. Market expectations lean towards a projected quarter-percentage point reduction in the central bank’s benchmark interest rate to 5.75% on Friday.
South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.95% to 2,824.79. Australia’s ASX 200 climbed by 0.05% to 8,546, while Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.23% to 37,661.36.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC dipped by 0.1% to 3,372.91. Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.05% to 10,139.09, while Hong Kong’s HSI rose by 0.84% to 23,853.73.
Meanwhile, the US stock markets were mixed on Wednesday as NASDAQ added by 0.32% to 19,460.49. S&P 500 edged up by 0.01% to 5,970.81, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shrank by 0.22% to 42,427.74. VIX diminished by 0.45% to 17.61.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Wednesday following U.S. data revealing a larger-than-expected increase in gasoline and diesel inventories. This surge in fuel supplies comes amidst OPEC+ discussions on boosting output and ongoing trade tensions which are casting shadows on the outlook for energy demand. Brent futures declined 77 cents or 1.2% to $64.86 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracted 56 cents or 0.9% to $62.85 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures climbed 3 cents or 0.05% to $64.89 a barrel, while the WTI futures slid 7 cents or 0.11% to $62.78 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged down by 0.08% to $3,396.5 per Troy ounce.
