On Thursday morning (18 December, 9:10 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), most major indices in Asia Pacific exhibited a downward trend, following ongoing outflows from technology shares on Wall Street. Additionally, investors also put focus on remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump, highlighting achievements during the first 11 months in office for his second term and addressing his administration’s measures taken against Venezuela.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 1.22% to 48,907.81. South Korea’s KOSPI fell by 1.11% to 4,011.54, and Australia’s ASX 200 shrank by 0.23% to 8,565.40.
As for stocks in China, Shenzhen’s SZI slid by 0.36% to 13,176.54. Hong Kong’s HSI decreased by 0.35% to 25,380.73, while Shanghai’s SSEC climbed by 0.05% to 3,872.03.
The U.S. stock markets edged down on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost 0.47% to 47,885.97. NASDAQ slumped by 1.81% to 22,693.32, and S&P 500 declined by 1.16% to 6,721.43. VIX soared by 6.92% to 17.62.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Wednesday after orders from U.S. President Donald Trump to block all sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of Venezuela, a move that heightened international political tensions and alleviated worries regarding a growing global crude glut. Brent crude futures ended the session at $59.68 per barrel, gaining 76 cents, or 1.3%. Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $55.94 per barrel, up 67 cents, or 1.2%.
This morning, Brent crude futures surged 88 cents, or 1.47%, to $60.56 per barrel, and the WTI rose 92 cents, or 1.64%, to $56.86 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures dipped by 0.24% to $4,363.20 per Troy ounce.
