Global Markets:
- Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei down 0.78%, Shanghai Composite down 0.17%, Hang Seng down 0.91% ASX down 0.55%
- Commodities : Gold at $3332.35 (0.39%), Silver at $33.8 (0.69%), Brent Oil at $64.8 (1.29%), WTI Oil at $61.6 (0.29%)
- Rates : US 10-year yield at 4.592, UK 10-year yield at 4.7545, Germany 10-year yield at 2.6445
News & Data:
- (USD) Crude Oil Inventories 1.3M to -0.9M expected
Markets Update:
Asia-Pacific markets declined on Thursday, mirroring Wall Street’s drop amid growing concerns that a new U.S. budget bill could significantly increase national debt. Investor sentiment turned cautious, leading to a broad regional sell-off.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 1.06% lower, while the Topix fell 0.85%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.59%, and the smaller Kosdaq index declined 0.69%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.36%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged down 0.24% at the open, and mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 0.14%.
Markets also turned their attention to New Zealand, where the 2025 budget is set to be announced.
The downturn in Asia followed a volatile overnight session in the U.S., where stock futures were relatively flat after a significant Wall Street sell-off. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped by 60 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures showed little movement.
All three major U.S. indices closed sharply lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 816.80 points, or 1.91%, ending at 41,860.44. The S&P 500 dropped 1.61% to 5,844.61, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.41% to 18,872.64.
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