FX168 Financial News (Asia-Pacific) reported that on Thursday (January 2), Asian stock markets started unfavorably after a turbulent close to 2024, with the dollar remaining strong. Investors are cautious about market prospects as Trump is set to return to the White House.

At the start of the new year, the stock market performance is not optimistic, with uncertainties surrounding the policies of the impending U.S. president Trump and a more hawkish Federal Reserve becoming the focus of market attention.

Although global stock markets recorded a strong annual increase of nearly 16% in 2024, December saw a monthly decline of over 2%. A similar situation appeared in the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index (excluding Japan), which fell 1.2% in December but had an annual increase of over 7%. However, during Thursday's Asian trading session, this index fell by 0.58%, with trading appearing subdued due to the Japanese holiday. #Decision Analysis#

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) performed poorly. Due to an escalating political crisis, this index has lost over 22% in USD terms in 2024, making it the worst-performing stock market in Asia.

Although Asian markets performed poorly, European stocks opened slightly higher with the German DAX Index up 0.16%, the France CAC40 Index up 0.07%, the UK FTSE100 Index up 0.09%, and the Europe Stoxx 50 Index up 0.11%. U.S. Equity Index futures indicate a likelihood of a higher opening: S&P 500 Index futures are up 0.48%, Nasdaq futures are up 0.67%.

IG market Analyst Tony Sycamore says investors are going through a 'confusion period' until Trump officially takes office on January 20. He noted: 'December is usually a month for stock market gains, but this year it hasn't been, indicating that the market may face other, larger concerns.'

In the MMF market, global uncertainty and reduced expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut have kept the safe-haven dollar hovering around a two-year high on Thursday.

The dollar rose 0.14% against the yen, reaching 157.18, while the yen is near a five-month low. The euro increased by 0.08%, trading around 1.036 USD, but remains close to a month's low.

The market expects that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by about 42 basis points this year, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will cut rates by 100 basis points and 60 basis points respectively.

In terms of CSI Commodity Equity Index, on Thursday, oil prices rose slightly. Brent Crude Oil futures increased by 0.25% to $74.83 per barrel. The USA WTI Crude Oil rose by 0.28% to $71.92 per barrel.

Spot Gold increased by 0.34% to $2,630. Gold surged over 27% for the entire year of 2024, marking the largest annual gain since 2010.