Asian Markets Mirror Global Markets Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with some traders picking up stocks at a bargain after the recent slump. Traders also remained largely cautious amid lingering concerns about the tensions in the Middle East, and worries about interest rates and inflation. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Snapping the two days of declines, the Australian stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 stayed above the 7,000 mark, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The Reserve Bank of Australia released the minutes from its October 3 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA kept its key interest rate unchanged at 4.10 percent for a fourth time, but not before mulling another quarter point hike. This was the first policy session chaired by the new governor Michele Bullock.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 28.10 points or 0.40 percent to 7,054.60, after touching a high of 7,100.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 27.00 points or 0.37 percent to 7,241.60. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent, Mineral Resources is adding almost 2 percent, Rio Tinto is advancing more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is up almost 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Beach energy are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.1 percent and Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are gaining 2.5 percent each, while WiseTech Global is adding 1.5 percent and Zip is surging more than 7 percent. Appen is losing almost 2 percent. Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is up almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is slipping more than 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is edging up 0.5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.635 on Tuesday.

Snapping the two-session losing run, the Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 31,900 level, with gains across most sectors led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 31,944.31, up 285.28 points or 0.90 percent, after touching a high of 32,260.77 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are gaining almost 3 percent each, while Screen Holdings is advancing more than 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon is edging up 0.3 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 2 percent and Sony is up more than 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Bandai Namco and Terumo are surging almost 5 percent each, while Recruit Holdings is adding more than 3 percent. Konami Group, TDK, Renesas Electronics and Oriental Land are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-149 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.4 percent each. New Zealand and China are down 0.4 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks rallied on Monday as investors indulged in some strong buying at several counters ahead of earnings updates from several top ranked companies, shrugging off rising bond yields and concerns about the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The major averages all ended on a firm note. The Dow ended higher by 314.25 points or 0.93 percent at 33,984.54. The S&P 500 advanced 45.85 points or 1.06 percent at 4,373.63, while the Nasdaq settled at 13,567.98, gaining 160.75 points or 1.2 percent.

The major European markets also ended modestly higher despite seeing some weakness during the course of the session. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.41 percent, Germany's DAX climbed 0.34 percent, and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.27 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday, retreating after rising sharply in the previous session amid fears that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war might fuel a wider conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November shed $1.03 or 1.2 percent at $86.66 a barrel.