December 2022 has begun and industries in various sectors are working in full swing. Shares in the Asia-Pacific climbed and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index managed to climb by 4.51%. It was standing at 19,518.29. In fact, it was the Hang Seng index that was leading the gains. The Hang Seng Tech index managed to gain 9.27%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose by 1.76%, and it touched 3,211.81. Similarly, the Shenzhen Component climbed by 0.92%, and it climbed to 11,323.35. Growth was also seen in the price of the oil due to the policies of the OPEC.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan managed to gain 0.15%, and it climbed to 27,820.40. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed by 0.33%, and it was standing at 7,325.60. The economy of Australia is in a stable condition. The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed by 1.66%. In the USA, the job report is strong, which means the economy is doing well. The travel firms, consumer firms, and Chinese technology-related firms listed in Hong Kong are doing well. Alibaba registered growth of 4.72%, Meituan climbed by 3.5%, the tech heavyweight Tencent managed to gain 5.5%, Xiaomi managed to climb by 7.31%, EV stocks such as Li Auto managed to jump by 9.19% and the Nio climbed 11.5%.
OPEC continues to stick to its policy
As most of the sectors are doing well and travel-related industries are flourishing, the Hotpot restaurant operator Haidilao also registered again. The China Eastern Airlines and the China Southern Airlines rose by 5%. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan has also strengthened. The offshore Yuan was trading at 6.9861. The oil futures registered growth of 2% because OPEC has decided to stick to its existing policy. Many European countries and the US have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The economists are analyzing the effect of these sanctions, and they also want to know how Russia will respond to such steps. The Brent crude futures were standing at $87.53 a barrel. It climbed by 2.29% while the US West Texas Intermediate futures climbed by 2.2%, and it was trading at $81.78 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is dominated by Saudi Arabia. The Russia-Ukraine war has led to shortages of various commodities including oil. The allies agreed in October that they would diminish the production by two million barrels per day, and it will continue till the end of 2023. Next the OPEC ministerial meeting will be held in June 2023. However, the alliance has said that it will take necessary measures and support the market if necessary.