On Friday morning (12 December, 9:27 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited an upward trend, buoyed by Wall Street’s rally after two major indices reached all-time highs following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent move to reduce interest rates to the range of 3.5%-3.75%.
Meanwhile, Chinese policymakers concluded their annual economic policy meeting on Thursday and reaffirmed plans to provide broad economic support for the coming year, emphasizing measures to encourage consumption and stabilize the real estate market. Supporting domestic technological advancement remains a central objective as the nation prepares its next five-year plan, set to begin in 2026.
Japan’s NIKKEI surged by 1.04% to 50,669.35. South Korea’s KOSPI gained 1.28% to 4,163.27, and Australia’s ASX 200 increased by 1.08% to 8,685.10.
As for stocks in China, Shenzhen’s SZI rose by 0.10% to 13,160.21. Hong Kong’s HSI added 1.10% to 25,811.83, while Shanghai’s SSEC fell by 0.29% to 3,862.13.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) soared by 1.34% to 48,704.01. S&P 500 grew by 0.21% to 6,901.00, while NASDAQ dropped by 0.26% to 23,593.85. VIX plummeted by 5.83% to 14.85.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday as market participants monitored ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations and took note of significant surpluses in U.S. gasoline and diesel stockpiles. Brent crude futures ended the session at $61.28 per barrel, a decrease of 93 cents or 1.49%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $57.60 per barrel, down 86 cents or 1.47%.
This morning, Brent crude futures climbed 41 cents, or 0.67%, to $61.69 per barrel, and the WTI advanced 42 cents, or 0.73%, to $58.02 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures slid 0.17% to $4,305.80 per Troy ounce.
