On Monday (3 August, 9:29 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia Pacific declined following U.S. President Donald Trump’s disclosure that a planned military operation against Iran had been called off. The decision, announced on Sunday, came amid ongoing volatility stemming from Middle East tensions that have impacted global markets in recent months.
Trump indicated that Iran and its neighboring states requested a pause, contingent upon commitments including unrestricted access to the Strait of Hormuz and steps to address concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In parallel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shared that discussions with Oman regarding alternative transit routes through the Strait were nearing completion. However, according to spokesman Esmail Baghaei, these talks did not determine whether the waterway would remain accessible.
Market sentiment has been unsettled by six months of rising hostilities, which saw fuel costs accelerate due to supply disruptions, raising fears of sustained inflation pressures. Investors have grown increasingly wary amid threats of more severe U.S. military responses.
Concurrently, attention is shifting back to the artificial intelligence sector following significant volatility among technology shares, which experienced a sharp rebound after a downturn last week.
Traders will also turn their focus to a series of labor market updates, culminating in the forthcoming U.S. jobs report on Friday. Current projections from FactSet indicate that nonfarm payrolls are expected to grow by 87,500 in July, compared to an increase of 57,000 jobs previously. The unemployment rate is anticipated to rise slightly to 4.3% from last month’s 4.2%.
Japan’s NIKKEI fell by 1.35% to 63,493.39. South Korea’s KOSPI slumped by 3.64% to 6,355.55, and Australia’s ASX 200 slid by 0.19% to 8,960.10.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC decreased by 0.60% to 3,809.37. Shenzhen’s SZI contracted by 0.31% to 13,537.04, and Hong Kong’s HSI dipped by 0.04% to 25,873.01.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.53% to 52,485.03. NASDAQ gained 1.00% to 25,373.85, and S&P 500 advanced by 0.70% to 7,489.72. VIX plummeted by 6.44% to 15.99.
As for commodities, oil prices settled higher on Friday as anxiety about crude shipments increased following reports from Iran that some vessels had to reverse course in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude ended trading up $1.09, or 1.2%, at $90.12 per barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled $1.08, or 1.3%, higher at $84.67 per barrel.
However, prices exhibited a downward trend at the start of the following week amid rising optimism for a peace agreement. This morning, Brent futures dropped $4.14, or 4.71%, to $83.79 per barrel, and the WTI futures lost $4.39, or 5.18%, to $80.28 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures added 0.14% to $4,112.90 per Troy ounce.
