Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 2.69%, Shanghai Composite up 0.05 Hang Seng up 0.36% ASX up 0.68%
- Commodities : Gold at $5,214.31 (-0.53%) Silver at $88.548 (-1.20%), Brent Oil at $87.29 (-0.54%), WTI Oil at $83.28 (-0.31%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.136, UK 10-year yield at 4.5580, Germany 10-year yield at 2.8533
News & Data:
- (JPY) Final GDP q/q 1.7% to 1.5% expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher on Wednesday as investors monitored developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict and its potential impact on global energy markets. Optimism in several regional markets helped lift overall sentiment despite lingering geopolitical concerns.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% in early trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.36%, while the broader Topix index gained 1.22%. In South Korea, the Kospi surged 3.2%, supported by strong buying in technology and export-oriented stocks, while the small-cap Kosdaq index advanced 1.39%.
Markets in Greater China also posted modest gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.43%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged up 0.19%.
Oil prices, which briefly surged close to $120 a barrel earlier this week amid fears of supply disruptions related to the Iran conflict, eased from those highs. Traders believe that several countries may release crude from emergency reserves to stabilize global supply and reduce market volatility. U.S. crude oil was last trading 3.24% higher at $86.15 per barrel.
David Johnson, CEO of financial services firm Vervent, noted that rising oil prices often act like a tax on the economy. Higher fuel and utility costs force households to spend more on energy and less on other goods and services, which can gradually slow consumer demand.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio surged more than 15% after the company reported strong fourth-quarter results. Vehicle deliveries jumped 71.7% year-over-year to 124,807 units, while revenue rose 75.9% to 34.65 billion yuan. Vehicle margins also improved significantly to 18.1% from 13.1% a year earlier.
Overnight in the United States, Wall Street ended mixed in choppy trading. The S&P 500 slipped 0.21% to close at 6,781.48, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.29 points to 47,706.51. The Nasdaq Composite was little changed, edging up 0.01% to finish at 22,697.10. Earlier in the session, major indexes had declined more sharply before recovering toward the close.
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