Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by strong gains in the technology sector after US chipmaker Nvidia's upbeat outlook on robust demand for AI related chips. Traders shrugged off the US Fed's latest monetary minutes, where officials remain wary of cutting interest rates too quickly. Asian Markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

The minutes of the late-January meeting said participants acknowledged risks to achieving the Fed's employment and inflation goals were moving into better balance, but they remained highly attentive to inflation risks.

However, the Fed said a couple of participants pointed to downside risks to the economy associated with maintaining an overly restrictive stance for too long.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Thursday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying a tad above the 7,600 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks nearly offset by gains in iron ore miners, technology and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 3.90 points or 0.05 percent to 7,604.50, after hitting a low of 7,584.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 0.90 points or 0.01 percent to 7,859.10. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources is adding more than 2 percent and BHP Group is advancing almost 1 percent, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 3 percent after reporting a jump in half-yearly net profit and sales. It also boosted dividend 44%.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding more than 1 percent. Beach energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen is gaining almost 3 percent and Zip is adding more than 1 percent. WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is declining more than 3 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.4 percent and Resolute Mining is flat.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia fell into contraction in February, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.7. That's down from 50.1 in January, and it slips beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The survey also showed that the services PMI climbed to 52.8 in February from 49.1 in January. The composite index also improved, rising to 51.8 in February from 49.0 in January.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.655 on Thursday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Thursday, snapping a four-session losing streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is adding more than 600 points to move above the 38,900 level to fresh 34-year highs, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,913.84, up 651.68 points or 1.70 percent, after touching a 34-year high of 38,924.88 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is surging almost 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining 2.5 percent and Honda is adding more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 5 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding almost 4 percent and Screen Holdings is soaring almost 9 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.3 percent.

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

Among other major gainers, Resonac Holdings is surging almost 5 percent and Aozora Bank is gaining more than 4 percent, while SMC, Hitachi and Lasertec are adding more than 3 percent each. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Shin-Etsu Chemical and Mazda Motor are advancing more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Chugai Pharmaceutical is declining almost 5 percent.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.2. That's down from 48.0 in January, and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI eased from 53.1 in January to 52.5 in February.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 150 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.9 percent each. Singapore and Malaysia are down 0.5 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks spent most of Wednesday's session in the red but staged a notable recovery attempt going into the close of trading. The Dow and the S&P 500 bounced well off their worst levels and into positive territory, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq still closed lower for the third straight session.

While the Nasdaq fell 49.91 points or 0.3 percent to 15,580.90, the Dow inched up 48.44 points or 0.1 percent to 38,612.24 and the S&P 500 crept up 6.29 points or 0.1 percent to 4,981.80.

The major European markets also finished the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices rebounded from early losses and settled higher on Wednesday as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East outweighed weak outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $0.87 or 1.1 percent at $77.91 a barrel.