01/02/2024
Today’s Announcements & News
Asia
Australian stocks reached all-time highs, with the S&P/ASX 200 gaining 1.06% and closing at 7,680.7, surpassing its previous record. This followed Australia’s fourth-quarter inflation rate, which came in lower than expected at 4.1%. In contrast, mainland Chinese stocks faced challenges, with the CSI 300 sliding to a five-year low, dropping 0.91% to close at 3,215.35. China’s manufacturing activity also contracted for the fourth consecutive month in January. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.78%. Other markets showed mixed results, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix closing higher, while South Korea’s Kospi and Kosdaq experienced losses, influenced in part by Samsung Electronics reporting a decline in operating and net profits.
US
Stocks declined on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank is unlikely to be ready to cut rates in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 306 points (0.6%), the S&P 500 was down 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2%. Powell’s comments, stating the need for further encouraging data on inflation before considering a rate cut, led to a sell-off, especially affecting tech shares like Alphabet and AMD. The market had been closely monitoring the Fed announcement for signals on the timing of rate cuts.
Commodity
Gold initially gained but later lost some of its advances on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled it wasn’t ready to initiate rate cuts. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,047.09 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.7% to $2,064.2. Gold has experienced a decline of 0.8% this month after reaching a record high in December. Meanwhile, oil prices posted their first monthly gain since September amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran in the Middle East. U.S. crude and Brent both recorded increases of 5.86% and 6.06%, respectively, in January, despite a dip in prices on Wednesday following China’s contracting factory activity.
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.
