26/06/2023
Today’s Announcements & News
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Asia
On Friday, Asia-Pacific markets experienced a decline as investors awaited inflation data from Japan and Singapore, as well as flash estimates on Japan’s manufacturing and services activity from the au Jibun bank.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 1.61% in its final hour of trade, leading the losses in the region as it resumed trading after a public holiday. The decline was primarily driven by weakness in healthcare and technology stocks. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a public holiday on Friday.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 pared some losses but still fell 1.45% to close at 32,781.54, ending an eight-day streak above the 33,000 mark. The Topix also dropped 1.38%, mainly influenced by the performance of industrial stocks, and closed at 2,264.73.
Japan’s core inflation rate in May slightly eased to 3.2% year-on-year, lower than April’s 3.4% but still above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target. The May core inflation rate slightly exceeded the economists’ expectation of 3.1% as polled by Reuters.
South Korea’s Kospi declined by 0.91% to close at 2,570.10, following a minor rebound on Thursday. The Kosdaq also slipped 0.18% and finished the day at 874.94.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.34% and closed at 7,099.2, marking the third consecutive day of losses. This decline follows the largest one-day fall in June, which occurred on Thursday.
United States
On Friday, stocks experienced a decline, leading to Wall Street posting a losing week as the recent rally in the broader market seemed to lose momentum.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 219.28 points or 0.65% to close at 33,727.43. The S&P 500 slid 0.77% to 4,348.33, and the Nasdaq Composite closed lower by 1.01% at 13,492.52.
All three major averages ended multiweek winning streaks. The S&P 500 lost approximately 1.4%, putting an end to five consecutive weeks of gains. The Nasdaq dropped 1.4%, breaking an eight-week winning streak and posting its worst weekly performance since March. The Dow declined by nearly 1.7%, ending a three-week positive run.
Commodity
On Friday, oil prices experienced a decline, heading for a weekly drop as concerns over interest rate hikes impacting demand overshadowed signs of tighter supply, including lower U.S. crude stocks.
Brent crude settled down 0.39% or 29 cents at $73.85 per barrel, marking a second consecutive day of losses. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 0.50% or 35 cents to $69.16 per barrel.
Gold prices also faced downward pressure on Friday, resulting in their largest weekly percentage decline in over four months. The decline was driven by a stronger dollar and a hawkish stance on rate hikes expressed by Federal Reserve officials.
Spot gold saw a 0.3% increase to $1,918.79 per ounce, briefly rising by as much as 1.2% due to a retreat in U.S. bond yields. However, it closed the week 2.1% lower. U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $1,928.90.
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.
