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Markets Update: Most Asian stock markets fell on Wednesday due to Iran’s missile strike on Israel, while oil prices rose and investors turned to safer assets like U.S. Treasuries and gold.
Global Markets Roundup: 2 October 2024
On Wednesday, most Asian stock markets declined, following the sell-off on Wall Street triggered by Iran's ballistic missile strike on Israel, raising concerns about a broader regional conflict. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose due to the risk of supply disruptions. Investors sought refuge in safer assets, keeping U.S. Treasury yields low in Asian trading, while gold remained near record highs. The safe-haven dollar was strong against the euro, supported by positive macroeconomic indicators, such as a robust U.S. job market potentially leading to a smaller Federal Reserve interest-rate cut in November, and euro zone inflation trends suggesting a European Central Bank easing this month.
Japan's Nikkei NI225 fell by 2%, and South Korea's KOSPI KOSPI dropped by 0.6%. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng HSI surged by 6% due to continued stimulus measures from Beijing boosting market sentiment. This helped lift MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) by 0.6%, despite overall fragile investor sentiment. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for the Golden Week holiday, while trading in Taiwan was suspended due to a typhoon. U.S. S&P 500 stock index futures ES1! declined by 0.15% after the cash index SPX decreased by 0.9% overnight. However, pan-European STOXX 50 futures FESX1! were up by 0.4%. FESX1! | Z1! | NI225 | NQ1! | ES1!
In the foreign exchange markets, The DXY dollar index, which monitors the performance of the U.S. dollar against the euro and five other major currencies, remained stable at 101.27 after reaching a peak of 101.39 on Tuesday, marking its highest level since Sept. 19. The euro, Europe's common currency, held steady at $1.1061 after experiencing a 0.6% decline in the previous session, dropping to $1.1046 for the first time since Sept. 12. Data from the Eurozone on Tuesday indicated that inflation had dropped below the European Central Bank's target of 2% last month, increasing expectations for a 0.25 percentage point rate reduction on Oct. 17. EURUSDÂ | USDJPY | AUDUSD | DXY | NZDUSD
In commodities, Iran confirmed early on Wednesday that it had concluded its missile attack on Israel unless further provoked, with Israel and the U.S. vowing to retaliate. This conflict had a direct impact on oil prices, as Brent crude futures BRN1! rose by 1.5% to $74.66 per barrel, building on Tuesday's 2.5% increase. Meanwhile, U.S. WTI futures CL1! also saw a 1.7% rise to $71 per barrel, following a 2.4% surge on Tuesday. The price of gold dipped by 0.3% to $2,654.27 per ounce, after a more than 1% rise in the previous session that nearly matched last month's peak of $2,685.42. Copper futures stabilized at approximately $4.5 per pound on Wednesday following a period of profit-taking earlier in the week. Prices were buoyed by positive demand expectations in China, the largest consumer, fueled by an extensive stimulus plan. In soft commodities the wheat contract with the highest trading activity on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ZW1! saw a slight increase of 0.1% to $5.99-1/2. This was after reaching $6.03 on Tuesday, marking its peak since June 16. Meanwhile, CBOT corn ZC1! went up by 0.4% to $4.30-1/2 per bushel, hitting $4.33, its highest level since June 27, on Tuesday. Additionally, soybeans ZS1! rose by 0.3% to $10.60-1/4 per bushel. December New York cocoa (CC1) settled at $7,039 per metric ton, marking an 8.8% decrease from the previous session and reaching its lowest level since mid-May when it dropped to $7,006. The contract had closed 6.8% lower on Monday. Meanwhile, March London cocoa (C2) saw a 1.9% decline to $4,465 per ton, after settling 4.1% lower previously. December arabica coffee (KC1) ended the session down 6.1 cents, or 2.3%, at $2.6415 per pound, following a recent surge to a 13-year high. November robusta coffee (RC1) dropped by 1% to $5,445 per ton. March raw sugar (SB1) increased by 2.2% to 22.97 cents per pound, although it remained below last week's 7-month peak. December white sugar (SF1) rose by 0.9% to $582.80 per ton. BRN1! | CL1! | GOLD | HG1! | KC1! | RC1! | CC1!
Looking forward refer to the economic calendar below to see the upcoming events scheduled for today and the rest of the week.
Wednesday Morning Coffee - Markets Update - 2 October 2024 - Asian Markets Dip Amidst Middle East Tensions; Oil Prices Climb
General news - Information source from multiple newswires.
The article and the data is for general information use only, not advice!
The Trade Academy Team