Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as concerns over a global trade war eased amid amicable measures from both the US and China. A notable move to the downside by treasury yields also aided the markets' upside. Asian Markets closed mixed on Wednesday.

Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report showing job openings in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in December, leading to some optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

The Australian market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, adding to the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving up above the 8,500 level, with gains in mining and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 86.60 points or 1.03 percent to 8,503.50, after touching a high of 8,508.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 85.50 points or 0.99 percent to 8,768.90. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.3 percent. BHP Group is edging down 0.3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is down almost 1 percent, Origin Energy is declining more than 1 percent, Santos is edging down 0.4 percent and Beach energy is slipping almost 4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is down almost 1 percent, Appen is declining more than 3 percent and Zip is losing almost 4 percent, while WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining more than 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank is adding almost 3 percent and Commonwealth Bank is up almost 2 percent. Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 3 percent, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is rising almost 2 percent and Newmont is up more than 2 percent.

In economic news, Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$5.085 billion in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was shy of expectations for A$6.560 billion and was down from the downwardly revised A$6.792 billion in November (originally A$7.079 billion)

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.627 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is trading notably higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 39,000 mark, with gains in some index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,888.04, up 56.56 points or 0.15 percent, after touching a high of 39,190.13 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining more than 1 percent, while Honda is losing more than 3 percent after Nissan's board struck down the $58 billion merger deal.

In the tech space, Advantest is advancing almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings is down almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.3 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down almost 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent, while Sony and Canon are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Renesas Electronics is skyrocketing almost 14 percent, Nippon Electric Glass is soaring more than 9 percent, Nomura Holdings is surging more than 7 percent, Marubeni is gaining almost 6 percent and Yamaha is advancing more than 5 percent, while BANDAI NAMCO and Chugai Pharmaceutical are adding almost 5 percent each. Shionogi & Co. and Japan Steel Works are up almost 4 percent each, while Minebea Mitsumi is rising more than 3 percent. Murata Manufacturing, NEC and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are gaining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kanadevia is declining almost 8 percent and KDDI is sliding almost 6 percent, while Kikkoman and Sumitomo Pharma are slipping more than 5 percent each. Daikin Industries, Nissan Motor and Fukuoka Financial Group are down almost 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Electric Industries is losing more than 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 152 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. Indonesia and Hong Kong are down 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively. New Zealand is closed for National Day. On Wall Street, stocks came under pressure early in the session on Wednesday but showed a significant rebound over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day and into positive territory.

The major averages reached new highs for the session going into the close of trading. The Dow advanced 317.24 points or 0.7 percent to 44,873.28, the S&P 500 climbed 23.60 points or 0.4 percent to 6,061.48 and the Nasdaq rose 38.31 points or 0.2 percent to 19,692.33.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices settled sharply lower Wednesday after data showed a sharp jump in U.S. crude inventories last week. Concerns about the outlook for oil demand also weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.03 a barrel, losing $1.67 or 2.29 percent.