23/11/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Asia-Pacific markets showed a mixed performance following the release of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s October 31 meeting. The minutes indicated that policy officials aimed to maintain a sufficiently restrictive stance, reducing expectations for rate cuts.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rebounded, rising 0.29% to 33,451.83, and the Topix added 0.44% to 2,378.19. South Korea’s Kospi marked a third day of gains, closing at 2,511.7, while the Kosdaq declined 0.29%, ending at 814.61. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained flat, and China’s CSI 300 index closed 1.02% lower at 3,544.42. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200
edged down marginally, closing at 7,073.4, reversing earlier gains.
US
Stocks saw an ascent on Wednesday, supported by a brief decline in yields to a two-month low, extending the November market rally through the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
advanced 182 points, marking a 0.5% increase. The S&P 500 climbed by 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite saw a 0.6% rise.
Over half of the stocks on the New York Stock Exchange showed gains, indicating a broadening market rally. Notably, the Nasdaq exhibited increased participation, with 63.7% of its stocks on the rise. Sectors like consumer staples and small- and mid-caps, which lagged in 2023, outperformed on Wednesday with a 0.6% increase.
However, the energy sector experienced a 0.6% decline after OPEC postponed a meeting scheduled for the weekend on production cuts. Companies like APA Corp, Marathon Oil, EOG Resources, and Devon Energy witnessed declines of over 1%.
Commodity
Gold prices dipped below the crucial $2,000 per ounce mark on Wednesday amid a rebound in the U.S. dollar and a recovery in Treasury yields. Expectations of a potential pause in Federal Reserve rate hikes restrained further upward movement in bullion.
At 10:43 a.m. ET (1543 GMT), spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,994.29 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures experienced a 0.3% decline, reaching $1,996.40.
Concurrently, U.S. crude prices dropped over 2% on Wednesday following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) postponing a crucial meeting focused on production cuts, originally set for the weekend.
The West Texas Intermediate
contract for January saw a decline of $1.78, or 2.29%, settling at $75.99 a barrel. Meanwhile, the Brent
contract for January also fell by $1.90, or 2.3%, concluding at $80.55 a barrel.
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.
