Oil Steady, Asian Stocks Drift After Israel-Hezbollah Cease-Fire Deal
Traders globally will be watchful of the upcoming US GDP print along with the consumer spending data due Wednesday.
Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region traded mixed on Wednesday after Israel reached a cease-fire deal with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah while Wall Street brushed aside Trump's tariff threats. Oil prices remained steady.
Equity benchmarks in Japan fell while South Korea's remained flat during the session's opening. The Nikkei was 169 points, or 0.04%, lower at 38,310, while the S&P ASX 200 was down 42 points, or 0.51%, at 8,402 as of 5:42 a.m.
After weeks of talks mediated by the US, Israel reached a deal for a 60-day cease-fire with the militant group Hezbollah.
The cease-fire would "end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah," according to President Joe Biden, who recently spoke with the leaders of both nations. He also said that the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey would push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Most Asian stocks ended lower on Tuesday after US President-elect Donald Trump vowed to impose fresh tariffs on China and US border countries, Mexico and Canada. China's benchmark CSI 300 index closed 0.21% lower.
The South Asian nation handed a suspended death sentence to former Bank of China Ltd. Chairman Liu Liange over bribery, marking heightened scrutiny over the nation’s $66 trillion financial sector.
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However, Wall Street shrugged off any potential backfire amid abating geopolitical risks with the key gauges touching a new record. The S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.57% and 0.63%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.28%.
Traders globally will be watchful of the upcoming US GDP print along with the consumer spending data due Wednesday, as any signs of a recovering economy will push the stocks even higher.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of 10 leading global currencies, was slightly trading above the 107 mark on Wednesday. The US 10-year treasury yield fell to 4.30%.
Crude oil prices remained steady easing geopolitical risk was counterbalanced by anticipated drop in US stockpiles amid signs of further delay in restoring output by the OPEC+. The Brent crude was trading 0.27% lower at $72.81 a barrel as of 6:00 a.m. IST, and the West Texas Intermediate was up 0.13% at $68.86.
