Gold climbed above $4,100 an ounce on Thursday, extending the previous session's gains as Democratic victories in the US midterm elections strengthened hopes for an end to the US-Iran conflict, triggering a sharp decline in oil prices. The precious metal also found support from a weaker US dollar and declining Treasury yields, which enhanced its appeal to investors. President Donald Trump conceded that Republicans lost because of the war and acknowledged gasoline prices as a factor behind the defeat, while indicating that there were no immediate plans to ramp up attacks on Iran. Lower oil prices could ease inflationary pressures, reducing concerns over potential near-term interest rate increases. Investors are now turning their attention to Friday's key US employment report, which could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Traders currently see a 79% probability of a Fed rate hike in December, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The annual inflation rate in the Philippines accelerated to 7.8% in October 2026 from 7.2% in September, exceeding expectations of 7.6% and marking the highest reading since February 2023. Transport inflation surged to 20.1% from 14.6%, while inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels increased to 9.3% from 8.4%, as the prolonged Middle East conflict drove up costs in a country heavily reliant on energy supplies from the region. Price growth also accelerated for restaurants and accommodation services (7.7% vs 7%), health (5.9% vs 5.6%), and furnishings and household equipment (5% vs 4.7%). In contrast, food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation eased to 6.1% from 6.7%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7%, following a 1% increase in September. Core inflation also accelerated to 5.4%, its highest level since September 2023, from an upwardly revised 4.8% in September, exceeding market expectations of 4.8%.

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.4% to above 62,400 on Thursday, recovering part of the previous session's losses and tracking Wall Street's gains. Sentiment improved after Democratic victories in the US midterm elections drove oil prices sharply lower on expectations of a potential end to the Middle East conflict. Retailers and automakers led the recovery in Japan, with notable gains from Fast Retailing (9.5%), Nintendo (5.3%) and Toyota Motor (6.9%). Banking shares also moved higher, including Mitsubishi UFJ (3.2%) and Sumitomo Mitsui (1.7%). Meanwhile, technology and artificial intelligence-related stocks underperformed as investors weighed potential implications for data-center development under Democratic control of the US Congress. Among the biggest decliners were Kioxia Holdings (-7.3%), Advantest (-8.5%) and SoftBank Group (-6.2%).

Crude oil traded near $88 per barrel on Thursday, following a decline of more than 8% in the previous session that pushed prices to a one-month low. The drop came as a Democratic sweep in the US midterm elections fueled expectations that the Trump administration could face growing pressure to bring the war with Iran to an end. President Donald Trump acknowledged that Republicans suffered losses largely due to the conflict and pointed to rising gasoline prices as a major contributing factor, while indicating no immediate plans to ramp up military strikes against Iran. A Democratic-controlled Congress could limit military funding for operations in the Middle East, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to push for an end to the conflict. Meanwhile, crude exports from the Persian Gulf have begun recovering, with supply exceeding near-term demand. Overall, the US oil benchmark has fallen about 15% so far this week.

South Korea’s current account surplus widened sharply to a record high of USD 61.46 billion in September 2026, up from USD 46.11 billion in August. The goods account surplus increased to USD 62.75 billion in September from USD 46.81 billion in August, with exports jumping 92.4% yoy to USD 130.72 billion, while imports rose 29.4% to USD 67.97 billion. Exports surged, boosted by strong growth in semiconductor exports amid the global AI boom. Additionally, the primary income account surplus climbed to USD 2.65 billion from USD 1.92 billion, while the secondary income deficit narrowed to USD 0.59 billion from USD 0.94 billion, reflecting smaller secondary income payments. Meanwhile, the services account deficit widened to USD 3.35 billion from USD 1.68 billion, due to higher deficits in the use of intellectual property and other business services. For the first nine months of 2026, the current account surplus soared to USD 340.66 billion from USD 89.39 billion in the same period of 2025.

The ISM Services PMI decreased to 54.5 in October 2026, the lowest in three months, compared to 54.9 in September and forecasts of 54.8. The reading pointed to a slowdown in services growth, due to business activity (53.8 vs 56.5), new orders (55.9 vs 59.8), and inventories (55.4 vs 57.8). Meanwhile, there was slower supplier delivery performance (56.7 vs 53.2) while employment expanded for a second month (51.4 vs 50.1) and price pressures eased (73 vs 74). “Tariffs and fuel cost impacts continued to be the most-cited issues impacting respondents’ supply chains, while many respondents indicated they are not yet seeing the full impact of these cost escalations or have not passed them through to customers. This indicates that more pricing pressure is on the way if oil and tariff cost impacts are not mitigated, even if they do not increase from current levels. Commentary on supply chain constraints increased significantly month over month", according to Steve Miller, Chair of the ISM.