On Tuesday morning (19 August, 9:18 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific decreased, echoing losses on Wall Street as traders braced for the upcoming U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
Moreover, market sentiment was also cautious as investors pay attention to high-level discussions in Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump—alongside Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders—sought new measures to quell the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Japan’s NIKKEI slid by 0.01% to 43,708.63. South Korea’s KOSPI declined by 0.41% to 3,164.33, and Australia’s ASX 200 fell by 0.64% to 8,902.1.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI dipped by 0.18% to 25,130.58. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.15% to 11,817.60, while Shanghai’s SSEC grew by 0.13% to 3,732.79.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.08% to 44,911.82. S&P 500 lost 0.01% to 6,449.15, while NASDAQ surged by 0.03% to 21,629.77. VIX dropped by 0.66% to 14.99.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Monday after U.S. and Ukrainian leaders met in Washington, following an unresolved U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska last Friday. Brent futures added 75 cents or 1.14% to $66.60 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 62 cents or 0.99% to $63.42 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures fell by 34 cents or 0.51% to $66.26 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contracted 35 cents or 0.55% to $63.07 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid by 0.05% to $3,376.3 per Troy ounce.
