On Friday (18 September, 9:20 AM, GMT+7, Bangkok time), major indices in the Asia-Pacific exhibited an upward trend, tracking gains on Wall Street after a decline in oil prices and easing U.S. Treasury yields. This followed news that Saudi Arabia would allocate additional crude shipments to Asian buyers through ship-to-ship operations near Oman’s Sohar port, alleviating fears about disruptions to energy supply.
A drop in energy prices has reduced inflationary pressures, providing central banks with greater flexibility as they assess the consequences of recent monetary tightening. This environment has benefited both stock and bond markets, though the persistence of these trends will depend on whether oil prices continue to moderate.
The uptick in equities came a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted policy rates by 25 basis points and signaled at least one more increase later this year. Investors are reassessing concerns about prolonged elevated rates and inflation, while also focusing on the continued growth potential from developments in AI.
Meanwhile, fresh economic figures from Japan showed the nation’s inflation rate unchanged at 1.9% for August, just ahead of a closely watched decision by the Bank of Japan on monetary policy. Core inflation, which excludes volatile components like fresh food and energy, edged down slightly to 1.7%, narrowly missing analyst forecasts of 1.8%.
Notably, the central bank is widely anticipated to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25%—a level not seen since 1995.
Japan’s NIKKEI rose by 0.68% to 64,574.64. South Korea’s KOSPI jumped by 2.06% to 6,854.07, and Australia’s ASX 200 grew by 0.12% to 8,742.70.
As for stocks in China, Shanghai’s SSEC increased by 0.73% to 3,903.98. Shenzhen’s SZI advanced by 0.67% to 13,500.16, and Hong Kong’s HSI gained 0.84% to 24,811.99.
The U.S. stock markets edged up on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) surged 0.61% to 51,778.04. NASDAQ advanced by 1.69% to 26,418.29, and S&P 500 expanded by 1.14% to 7,637.76. VIX plunged by 12.82% to 15.44.
As for commodities, oil prices settled lower on Thursday as traders considered supply risks linked to ongoing hostilities involving Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi forces, amid indications that Saudi Arabia could increase the volume of crude oil available internationally. Brent crude contracts declined $1.01, or 0.95%, to $104.82 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures also lost ground, ending 52 cents lower, down 0.5%, at $101.91 per barrel.
This morning, Brent futures dropped 65 cents, or 0.62%, to $104.17 per barrel, and WTI futures contracted 41 cents, or 0.40%, to $101.50 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures decreased by 0.30% to $4,386.60 per Troy ounce.
