EQUITIES
Asia-Pacific shares were mixed in Thursday trade. South Korea’s KOSPI led losses regionally, dipping 0.35%. The mainland Shanghai composite and the Straits Times index in Singapore were both down 0.10%, while the S&P BSE Sensex in India trading close to the flatline.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 0.12, helped by the shares of developer Kaisa Group that soared more than 12% as they resumed trading. Kaisa earlier announced an offer to bondholders to exchange their existing bonds with new bonds that have an extended maturity.
Elsewhere in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.79% while the S&P/ASX 200 last sitting 0.14% higher.
The U.S. stock market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and it will have a shortened session on Friday.
OIL
Oil prices were largely steady following a turbulent few days after the U.S. and other consumer nations moved to release oil from strategic petroleum reserves to lower energy prices. However, investors questioned the programme's effectiveness, leading to price gains.
The advisory body of OPEC's Economic Commission Board projects that the excess in world crude oil markets would grow by 1.1 million barrels per day to 2.3 million bpd in January and 3.7 million bpd in February following the stockpiles release. Some delegates from OPEC and its partners have indicated they could cancel an output hike scheduled for January if inventories deployed by the U.S. and others overwhelm the market.
The U.S. on Tuesday said it would release 50 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with smaller releases from China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Britain.
The Brent now traded at $82.23 per barrel, and U.S. crude futures traded at $78.33 per barrel. Overnight, the Brent futures ends at $82.25 a barrel, and the WTI settled at $78.39 per barrel.
CURRENCIES
U.S. Treasuries will not trade on Thursday because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The renewed bets the Fed will hike rates to tame inflation pushed U.S. treasury yields higher overnight, with benchmark 10-year notes last yielding 1.643% having risen as high as 1.6930% early on.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, eased slightly to 96.744, but still hovered close to Wednesday's high of 96.938, the strongest level since July 2020.
The Bank of Korea on Thursday followed a similar move by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Wednesday, raised its policy rate. The BOK raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 1%, a move that was largely expected. Following the decision, the Korean won traded 1190 per dollar, weaker than levels around 1185 seen against the greenback yesterday.
GOLD
Gold prices edged up on Thursday, although strength in the U.S. dollar and jitters around a sooner-than-expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve adding to the downbeat mood, keeping the metal below the key $1,800 mark.
Spot gold rose 0.20% to $1,792.60 per ounce, while the U.S. gold futures added 0.44% to $1,792.20 per ounce.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Asian shares were on edge on Thursday, hurt by the U.S. dollar which continued to march higher as investors bet on interest rates rising more quickly in the U.S. than in other major economies such as Japan and the eurozone.
Technology shares leading gains in Asia, as investors scouted for bargains after sharp declines in the previous session.
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes indicated that the committee members would not hesitate to address inflationary pressures, implying that the tapering process could be quickened, and a rate hike could happen sooner. The core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, also accelerated in October.
Other data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims fell and Q3 GDP was revised higher, while a University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment improved in November.
While the U.S. calendar is mostly empty on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday, minutes from the European Central Bank's Oct. 28 meeting are due for release.
