10/11/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Asia-Pacific markets experienced a mixed performance on Thursday, with several markets rebounding after consecutive days of losses. Notable events included a drop in consumer prices in China, which was larger than expected.
The South Korean stock market, which had seen a 3.24% decline over the past two sessions, managed to finish marginally higher. In China, consumer prices for October showed a year-on-year decrease of 0.2%, surpassing expectations for a 0.1% decline. Producer prices in China also fell, but the decline was slightly smaller than anticipated, coming in at 2.6%, whereas a 2.7% drop was expected.
Specifically, South Korea’s Kospi index ended the day with a 0.23% gain, attempting to recover from the losses of the previous two days. On the other hand, the Kosdaq, South Korea’s secondary index, continued its decline for the third consecutive day, closing 1% lower at 802.87.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.22% during the final hour of trading, marking the third consecutive day of losses. In contrast, China’s CSI 300 index ended the day unchanged at 3,612.83.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index performed well, rising by 1.49% to reach 32,646.46, and the broader Topix index also recorded a solid gain of 1.26% to close at 2,335.12.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 managed to finish 0.28% higher at 7,014.90, displaying a mixed picture across the Asia-Pacific region.
US
The S&P 500 saw a decline on Thursday, signaling a potential end to its eight-day winning streak, as a significant surge in yields made investors uneasy.
The benchmark index dropped by 0.6%, with the Nasdaq Composite losing nearly 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell, shedding 220 points, which represented a 0.6% decrease.
Stocks hit their lowest point of the session after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that more measures might be necessary to combat inflation. However, he noted that the recent deceleration in inflation’s pace was an encouraging development for policymakers. Powell said, “The Federal Open Market Committee is committed to achieving a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2 percent over time; we are not confident that we have achieved such a stance,” in prepared remarks.
The drop in stock prices coincided with a rise in yields, partly driven by a U.S. Treasury auction earlier in the session. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed by more than 12 basis points to reach 4.632%, while the 30-year bond rate increased nearly 14 basis points to 4.792%.
Commodity
Oil prices saw a slight increase on Thursday as the market paid little attention to deflationary signs in China and sought more information regarding the demand from the world’s top two oil consumers.
Brent crude futures rose by 42 cents or 0.5%, reaching $79.96 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures also climbed by 36 cents or 0.5%, reaching $75.69 per barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices experienced an increase as the U.S. dollar weakened on Thursday. Investors were eagerly awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech for insights into interest rates. In contrast, palladium, primarily used as an auto-catalyst, fell below the $1,000 per ounce level for the first time since 2018.
Spot gold was up by 0.5% at $1,959.82 per ounce after hitting its lowest point since October 18 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures also rose by 0.4% to $1,965.10.
The above analysis is only for the views of market researchers and is for reference only and is not regarded as a specific investment suggestion.
