On Wednesday morning (15 October, 10:06 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most indices in Asia Pacific increased, in contrast with a downward trend seen on Wall Street. This followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s stance on trade ties with China and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statement on the interest rate path.
Trump announced on Tuesday that Washington is weighing the suspension of certain trade relations with China, including transactions involving cooking oil, in response to what he described as Beijing’s deliberate reduction of U.S. soybean purchases—an “economically hostile act” harming American farmers. The U.S. president also reiterated his intention to raise the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping this month.
On the other hand, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank is close to ending its reduction of bond holdings and signaled the possibility of further interest rate cuts, citing labor market weakness as a contributing factor. While Powell refrained from specifying a timeline for lowering rates, his remarks supported market expectations that policy easing remains under consideration.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 1.31% to 47,463.31. South Korea’s KOSPI grew by 1.87% to 3,628.58, and Australia’s ASX 200 surged by 0.89% to 8,978.3.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC gained 0.07% to 3,867.86. Hong Kong’s HSI expanded by 0.99% to 25,694.27, while Shenzhen’s SZI dropped by 0.1% to 12,882.72.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Tuesday as NASDAQ declined by 0.76% to 22,521.70. S&P 500 contracted by 0.16% to 6,644.31, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added 0.44% to 46,270.46. VIX jumped by 9.35% to 20.81.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as the International Energy Agency warned of a significant supply surplus in 2026 and ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions weighed on market sentiment. Brent crude futures dropped 93 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $62.39 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slid 79 cents, or 1.3%, to $58.70.
This morning, Brent futures lost 24 cents, or 0.38%, to $62.15 a barrel, and the WTI slid 22 cents, or 0.37%, to $58.48 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures escalated by 0.66% to $4,191 per Troy ounce.
