20/07/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Wednesday, buoyed by better-than-expected results from Wall Street during the earnings season. The Nikkei 225 in Japan and the Topix both posted gains, although business sentiment among manufacturers in Japan declined for the first time in six months. South Korea’s Kospi rebounded, and the Kosdaq reached its highest level since April 2022. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also rebounded, and investors are eagerly awaiting unemployment figures, which could impact the central bank’s decision on interest rates. On the other hand, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index extended its losses from the previous day, while mainland Chinese markets ended mixed, with the Shanghai Composite slightly up and the Shenzhen Component slightly down.
US
Stocks continued to rise on Wednesday as the corporate earnings season progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average achieved its longest winning streak in nearly four years, gaining for the eighth consecutive day. The S&P 500 also climbed, and the Nasdaq Composite registered a modest increase. Goldman Sachs reported mixed results with a miss on profit but a beat on revenue, primarily due to losses in real estate and GreenSky. Despite the lackluster results, shares of Goldman Sachs rose by nearly 1%. U.S. Bancorp and J.B. Hunt also saw significant gains, with their shares rising by about 6.5% and 3.7%, respectively. Investors are keeping an eye on other major companies, including Netflix, Tesla, IBM, and United Airlines, as they prepare to release their earnings reports after the market’s close.
Commodity
On Wednesday, oil prices slightly declined as investors took profits following earlier gains driven by tighter U.S. crude supplies and China’s commitment to boost its economic growth. Brent crude futures dipped 17 cents, settling at $79.46 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 40 cents to $75.35 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gold prices remained close to an eight-week high on Wednesday, buoyed by recent economic data that rekindled hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve might soon pause its interest rate-hiking cycle. Spot gold eased slightly by less than 0.1%, closing at $1,977.79 per ounce, as the U.S. dollar slightly rose from 15-month lows.
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.
