On Monday morning (15 December, 9:24 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in Asia Pacific decreased across the board, mirroring the trend on Wall Street, as the AI rally took a pause. Meanwhile, the key focus is also on the release of economic data in the region.
Japan’s latest Tankan survey showed business sentiment among large manufacturers rising to +15 in the fourth quarter, marking a four-year high and aligning with economists’ expectations in a Reuters poll. This followed a +14 result in the previous quarter, while the non-manufacturing index reached +34 for the same period.
In China, the nation’s industrial output increased 4.8% year-on-year in November, slowing from October’s 4.9% gain and coming in below the 5.0% rise projected by economists in a Reuters poll. Retail sales growth also eased, expanding 1.3% after a 2.9% rise in October, missing forecasts for a 2.8% increase. Fixed asset investment fell 2.6% for January to November, compared with a 1.7% decline in January-October, while economists had anticipated a 2.3% decrease.
Japan’s NIKKEI declined by 1.22% to 50,217.12. South Korea’s KOSPI slumped by 1.40% to 4,108.71, and Australia’s ASX 200 lost 0.62% to 8,643.30.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC slid by 0.10% to 3,885.50. Shenzhen’s SZI fell by 0.46% to 13,196.99, and Hong Kong’s HSI dropped by 0.81% to 25,766.08.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) decreased by 0.51% to 48,458.05. NASDAQ plummeted by 1.69% to 23,195.16, and S&P 500 shrank by 1.07% to 6,827.41. VIX surged by 5.99% to 15.74.
As for commodities, oil prices rebounded on Monday after registering a 4% weekly drop as of Friday, as worries about possible disruptions from heightened U.S.-Venezuela tensions took precedence over ongoing oversupply concerns and the implications of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Brent crude futures rose 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.37 a barrel in early trading, while WTI gained 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $57.67 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures gained 0.60% to $4,354.40 per Troy ounce.
