Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain optimistic about the outlook for interest rates after US Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday that the three inflation readings over the second quarter of this year showed “more progress.” Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

Powell noted, “If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2 percent, you’ve probably waited too long.”

With the odds for a Trump presidency increasing, markets also grappled with the concept of the “Trump Trade,” which implies deregulation, tax cuts, and increased fiscal spending.

Australian shares are trading significantly higher on Wednesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,000 mark to fresh all-time highs, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 80.90 points or 1.01 percent to 8,080.20, after touching a fresh all-time high of 8,080.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 81.60 points or 0.99 percent to 8,324.90. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Fortescue Metals is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is edging up 0.2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Santos is gaining almost 1 percent. Woodside Energy is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Appen is gaining almost 3 percent and WiseTech Global is adding more than 3 percent. Zip is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newmont and Evolution Mining are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are advancing almost 3 percent each. Resolute Mining is surging almost 5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.674 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is slightly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 41,300 level, with gains in exporters, automakers and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 41,307.36, up 32.28 points or 0.08 percent, after touching a high of 41,466.45 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.5 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing more than 3 percent, while Screen Holdings is adding almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon and Sony are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are gaining almost 2 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Toho is soaring almost 9 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Hitachi Zosen are surging almost 6 percent each. Hitachi Construction Machinery and Sumitomo Pharma are advancing more than 5 percent each, while Toray Industries, Komatsu and Sumitomo Heavy Industries are gaining more than 4 percent each. Taisei, Tokai Carbon and Sumitomo Chemical are adding almost 4 percent each, while Kubota is up more than 3 percent. JTEKT, Daiwa Securities and Nomura Holdings are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Lasertec and Disco are losing almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. China, South Korea and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 and 0.5 percent each.
On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The Dow led the charge, surging to a new record closing high.

The Dow jumped 742.76 points or 1.9 percent to 40,954.48, the S&P 500 climbed 35.98 points or 0.6 percent to a new record closing high of 5,667.20 and the Nasdaq rose 36.77 points or 0.2 percent to 18,509.34.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand and a slightly stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August sank $1.15 or 1.4 percent at $80.76 a barrel.