On Friday morning (5 September, 9:27 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order reducing tariffs on Japanese auto imports to 15% from the previous 27.5%, confirming a pact under which Japan will channel $550 billion investments into American projects.
On the other hand, Trump also announced plans to introduce tariffs on semiconductors imported from firms that fail to relocate manufacturing to the U.S., a statement made ahead of a dinner meeting with the chiefs of leading technology firms.
He stated the U.S. will soon impose notable tariffs on semiconductor companies that don’t manufacture in the country, but firms building or planning U.S. operations will be exempt. There was no exact time or rate suggested.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.74% to 42,895.51. South Korea’s KOSPI climbed by 0.02% to 3,201.33, and Australia’s ASX 200 increased by 0.33% to 8,855.7.
As for stocks in China, Hong Kong’s HSI grew by 0.49% to 25,181.29. Shenzhen’s SZI surged by 1.19% to 12,262.62, while Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.12% to 3,761.41.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew by 0.77% to 45,621.29. NASDAQ expanded by 0.98% to 21,707.69, and S&P 500 advanced by 0.83% to 6,502.08. VIX plummeted by 6.42% to 15.3.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday following an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stockpiles and market anticipation of higher production targets from OPEC+ at their upcoming meeting this weekend. Brent crude futures ended the session down 61 cents, or 0.9%, at $66.99 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate settled 49 cents lower, dropping 0.8% to close at $63.48 a barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dropped 24 cents or 0.36% to $66.75 a barrel, and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 25 cents or 0.39% to $63.23 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.13% to $3,611.4 per Troy ounce.
