Asian stock markets are a sea of green on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as data showing a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of April raised hopes the US Fed will start thinking of cutting interest rates soon. Traders also continue to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels after the recent sell-off. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
Traders now await more economic data later in the week, including the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed\'s preferred measure of inflation. This ahead of the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on April 30-May 1.
Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving a tad above the 7,700 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in most sectors led by technology stocks. Iron ore miners were the only weak spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 22.50 points or 0.29 percent to 7,706.00, after touching a high of 7,724.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 22.50 points or 0.28 percent to 7,960.40. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are declining almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing more than 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is adding almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent, while Beach energy is edging down 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Xero is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent. Zip is flat.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Newmont is gaining almost 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are adding more than 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
In other news, shares in Cleanaway Waste Management plunged almost 12 percent after it denied speculation about being bought out by Seven Group. Bloomberg reported Seven had been seeking financing for a takeover.
In economic news, consumer prices in Australia were up a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 0.8 percent and accelerated from 0.6 percent in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, inflation climbed 3.6 percent - again topping forecasts for 3.4 percent but slowing from 4.1 percent in the previous three months.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging above the 38,300 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,329.39, up 777.23 points or 2.07 percent, after touching a high of 38,351.44 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is advancing more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining almost 4 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is surging more than 6 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is gaining almost 3 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 2 percent and Panasonic is adding more than 1 percent, while Canon is losing almost 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Nikon is soaring 10.5 percent and Renesas Electronics is surging more than 9 percent, while Disco and Hoya are advancing more than 5 percent each. LY is gaining more than 4 percent, while Yaskawa Electric, Minebea Mitsumi, Sekisui House and NTT Data are adding almost 4 percent each. Ebara, Rakuten Group, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Mercari and Hitachi are up more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Resonac Holdings is plunging more than 7 percent, Nidec is losing more than 4 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is declining almost 3 percent.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 2.3 percent on year in March, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. That exceeded expectations for an increase of 2.1 percent and was up from the upwardly revised 2.2 percent gain in February (originally 2.1 percent). On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 0.8 percent - accelerating from 0.3 percent in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 154 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan are higher by between 1.7 and 2.6 percent each, while New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 0.9 percent each
On the Wall Street, stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains from previous session, with technology shares once again outperforming others, amid optimism about earnings. A batch of encouraging earnings updates, and slightly easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates helped underpin sentiment.
The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of 263.71 points or 0.69 percent at 38,503.69. The S&P 500 climbed 59.95 points or 1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while the Nasdaq gained 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to settle at 15,696.64.
The major European markets also closed higher on the day. While the German DAX Index surged 1.55 percent, France\'s CAC 40 gained 0.81 percent, and the U.K.\'s FTSE 100 ended higher by 0.26 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday after data showed a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in April, raising hopes the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June rose $1.46 or 1.78 percent at $83.36 a barrel.