The Delayed OPEC Meeting
As the scheduled meeting between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies was delayed, the stocks in the Asia Pacific rose in the morning. The meeting between OPEC countries and its allies, generally known as OPEC+ was pushed back, raising fears that a production cut might face challenges. Last week, both Brent and the US crude futures surged to the best week on record as Saudi Arabia called for a OPEC+ meeting, signaling there could be progress on a production cut, but tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia escalated on Friday. According to sources familiar with the matter, the meeting is likely to be held on Thursday.
The Rare Hike in the Stocks
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the stocks around the world have been experiencing historical rout since few weeks. However, the delay in the OPEC meeting has resulted in the rise of the stocks and fall of oil prices. In Japan, as shares of index heavyweight Softbank group 3.22% while the Topix index added 1.49%, the Nikkei rose 1.72%. South Korea’s Kospi also advanced 1.74% in the morning trade while the Kosdaq index rose 2.24%. Hong Kong’s Heng Seng index edged 0.27% higher.
The shares in Australia also rose with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 2.37%. Overall, the MSCI Asia Japan index rose 0.43% higher. Furthermore, the oil prices also fell in the morning of the Asian trade hours. The International benchmark Brent Crude Futures dropped 3.99% to $32.75 per barrel. US Crude futures also dropped 6.25% to $26.57 per barrel. As the concerns over the coronavirus’ economic impact have sent markets into a whirlwind in recent weeks, developments on the pandemic will also continue to be watched.
