On Monday morning (16 February, 9:44 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia Pacific traded mixed as China’s mainland markets entered a week-long closure for the Lunar New Year. The Hong Kong market is set to close early, while South Korea’s KOSPI also halted trading.
In Japan, official data showed the economy in 4Q25 grew by 0.1%, following a 0.7% contraction in the preceding quarter. However, the figure fell short of a Reuters survey of economists, who had projected a slightly sharper 0.4% expansion.
Meanwhile, trading in global fixed income responded to the latest U.S. consumer price index release. The U.S. CPI for January climbed by 0.2%, the slowest pace since July. This subdued reading prompted traders to move up expectations for a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut later this year.
Japan’s NIKKEI dropped by 0.25% to 56,801.80. Australia’s ASX 200 rose by 0.19% to 8,934.90, and Hong Kong’s HSI climbed by 0.05% to 26,579.91.
The U.S. stock markets were mixed on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew by 0.10% to 49,500.93. S&P 500 gained 0.05% to 6,836.17, while NASDAQ fell by 0.22% to 22,546.67. VIX decreased by 1.06% to 20.60.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday as new figures indicated a broader deceleration in U.S. inflation, balancing investor concerns about a potential rise in output from OPEC+. Brent crude finished the session up 23 cents at $67.75 per barrel, representing a gain of 0.3%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged up 5 cents to close at $62.89 per barrel, a move of 0.08%.
Price movement was limited on Monday in anticipation of scheduled discussions between the United States and Iran. Brent crude futures slid 6 cents, or 0.09%, to $67.69 per barrel, and the WTI shrank 6 cents, or 0.10%, to $62.83 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures edged down by 0.13% to $5,039.70 per Troy ounce.
