Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mostly higher cues from Wall Street overnight and boosted by strong gains in the Chinese and Hong Kong market after China announced fresh stimulus in a bid to boost the country's struggling economy. China unexpectedly announced it will reduce banks' reserve ratio by 50 basis points next month which will help infuse cash into the banking system. Asian Markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

The Australian market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous four sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying above the 7,500 level, with gains in energy and mining stocks partially offset by losses in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 26.90 points or 0.36 percent to 7,546.10, after touching a high of 7,551.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 26.30 points or 0.34 percent to 7,774.40. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 2 percent and Mineral Resources is rising almost 6 percent after it kept its volume and cost guidance unchanged for FY24.

Oil stocks are higher. Santos and Origin Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is adding almost 3 percent and Woodside Energy is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Appen is declining almost 3 percent, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 6 percent, Xero is down almost 1 percent, Zip is slipping 2.5 percent and WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent. Westpac is flat.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 2 percent, while Newmont is losing more than 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.5 percent.

In other news, shares in Domino's Pizza are plummeting 30 percent after reporting disappointing quarterly results.

Shares in ResMed are surging almost 8 percent after the medical technology developer maintained its quarterly dividend at US$48 cents.

Shares in Sayona Mining are plunging 9 percent after the lithium miner cut staff at its North American site.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.658 on Thursday.

Extending the losses in the previous two sessions, the Japanese market is modestly lower on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 36,200 level, with weakness across most sectors led by exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 36,162.01, down 64.47 points or 0.18 percent, after hitting a low of 35,912.54 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also declining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is flat and Honda is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are losing almost 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are losing almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic is declining almost 2 percent. Canon is flat.

Among other major losers, Nidec and M3 are gaining more than 4 percent each, while NEXON and Recruit Holdings are adding almost 4 percent each. Chugai Pharmaceutical is up almost 3 percent.

Conversely, DIC is gaining more than 4 percent, while Daiwa Securities, Nomura Holdings, Nippon Paper Industries and Lasertec are gaining more than 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 147 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China and Hong Kong are up 1.7 and 1.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. Singapore and South Korea are down 0.1 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Malaysia is closed on account of Thaipusam.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday but gave back ground over the course of the session. The major averages pulled back well off their highs of the session in afternoon trading, with the Dow sliding into negative territory.

The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 55.98 points or 0.4 percent to 15,481.92 and the S&P 500 inched up 3.95 points or 0.1 percent to 4,868.55, the Dow fell 99.06 points or 0.3 percent to 37,806.39.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 1.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday on data showing a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories, while a weak dollar also contributed to the increase in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March added $0.72 or nearly 1 percent at $75.09 a barrel.