On Wednesday morning (August 21, 9:31am GMT+7, Bangkok time), Asia Pacific indexes fell in tandem with the US market, while investors also digested Japan's trade data for July.
Japan's trade statistics for July 2024 showed exports increased 10.3% year-on-year, while imports also increased 16.6%. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected export growth to be even higher, at 11.4%, while import growth was expected to be 14.9%.
Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.88% to 37,729.77, South Korea's KOSPI lost 0.27% to 2,689.47 and Australia's ASX 200 lost 0.5% to 7,957.6.
Among Chinese stocks, Shanghai's SSEC fell 0.27% to 2,858.91, Hong Kong's HSI was down 0.8% to 17,370.75 and Shenzhen's SZI was unchanged at 8,253.03.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks were slightly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 0.15% to 40,834.97, the Nasdaq down 0.33% to 17,816.94 and the S&P 500 down 0.2% to 5,597.12. The VIX rose 8.4% to 15.88.
In commodities, oil prices fell on Tuesday as concerns about Middle Eastern supplies eased after Israel agreed to address issues blocking a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Additionally, concerns about a worsening economic situation in China also contributed to lower fuel demand, further impacting the decline in oil prices. Brent crude futures fell 46 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $77.20 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 33 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $74.04 a barrel.
This morning, Brent Crude futures fell 13 cents, or 0.17%, to $77.07 a barrel, while WTI Crude was unchanged at $74.04 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gold futures rose 0.25% to $2,556.9 per troy ounce.
