12/05/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Asia-Pacific markets experienced mixed trading following a tech rally on Wall Street, as the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for April showed a smaller-than-expected increase. Economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated a 5% gain, but the CPI reported a reading of 4.9%. Month-over-month, inflation matched expectations with a 0.4% increase.
Investors in Asia are closely monitoring China’s April inflation data, which came in slower than expected at 0.1% compared to the 0.4% forecasted in a Reuters poll.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index closed almost unchanged, slipping 0.05% to 19,751.40. However, the Hang Seng Tech index gained 1.43% and closed at 3,866.25.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.29% to close at 3,309.55, while the Shenzhen Component saw a marginal increase, finishing at 11,142.53.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 traded slightly higher, ending the day at 29,126.72. On the other hand, the Topix experienced a 0.14% decline, finishing at 2,083.09.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.22% lower at 2,491, while the Kosdaq had a larger loss of 0.63%, ending at 824.54. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 sunk 0.08% to close at 7,249.6.
United States
On Thursday night, U.S. stock futures showed little change. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures increased by 29 points or 0.09%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also experienced gains of 0.13% and 0.12% respectively.
In other news, Elon Musk announced that he will step down as chief executive at Twitter, but will continue to oversee product development at the social media company. Following this announcement, Tesla shares saw a slight increase during extended trading.
Additionally, CNBC reported that the debt ceiling meeting between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders, initially scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to the following week.
Investors are coming off a fourth consecutive session of losses for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which dropped over 200 points or 0.66% on Thursday. The decline was influenced by Disney’s poor subscriber numbers and stress in the regional banking sector after PacWest Bancorp reported a decrease in deposits. The S&P 500 declined by 0.17%, while the Nasdaq Composite saw a modest increase of 0.18%.
Commodity
On Thursday, oil prices experienced a decline of around 2% due to various factors. One of the main reasons was a political standoff over the U.S. debt ceiling, which raised concerns about a potential recession in the largest oil-consuming country. Additionally, rising U.S. jobless claims negatively impacted market sentiment, and the strength of the dollar further pressured oil prices.
Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil prices, dropped by $1.43 or 1.87% to reach $74.98 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. crude futures saw a decrease of $1.67 or 2.32% to settle at $70.88 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar strengthened, reaching its highest level in a week against major currencies. This was driven by recent data on jobless claims, which reinforced the possibility of the Federal Reserve pausing interest rate hikes without indicating expectations of rate cuts by year-end.
A stronger U.S. dollar makes oil more expensive for countries using other currencies. Moreover, higher interest rates can dampen oil demand by increasing borrowing costs and potentially slowing economic growth.
On Thursday, gold prices experienced a retreat as the strengthening U.S. dollar, considered a rival safe-haven asset, outweighed the support for bullion stemming from ongoing economic risks. Traders were also analyzing the impact of weak data on the outlook for interest rates.
The spot gold price declined by 0.75% to reach $2,014.3021 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures settled down 0.8% at $2,020.50.
The strengthening dollar made gold relatively more expensive for investors using other currencies. Despite the lingering economic risks that typically boost demand for gold as a safe-haven asset, the impact of the dollar’s strength and the market’s assessment of weak data influenced the retreat in gold prices.
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.
