Asian Markets Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, as another rally in crude oil prices, positive U.S. vaccination news and easing worries about an imminent tapering of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve raised hopes the global economy will recover faster than expected. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Though traders remained concerned about spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus in the region, there are signs of falling infections in China, India and some other countries.

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,500 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street.

Traders are also getting restless amid concerns about the worsening domestic coronavirus situation in New South Wales and the extended restrictions and lockdowns, with a record 919 new cases reported in NSW on Tuesday. Victoria has recorded 45 new cases of COVID-19, with 538 total active cases of coronavirus across Victoria.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 20.50 points or 0.27 percent to 7,523.50, after touching a high of 7,542.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 27.20 points or 0.35 percent to 7,800.90. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding almost 4 percent, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are rising more than 3 percent each. OZ Minerals is up almost 3 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Petroleum and Beach energy are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Santos is edging up 0.3 percent and Origin Energy is adding almost 1 percent. Oil Search is edging down 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is soaring more than 27 percent, Xero is gaining more than 1 percent and Appen is adding more than 4 percent, while Afterpay is edging down 0.5 percent.

Logistics software maker WiseTech has recorded revenue growth of 18 percent for the full year, at the top end of its guidance range. However the company’s profit of $108.1 million was down 33 percent, but still beat consensus expectations.

Afterpay has reported a 90 percent surge in underlying sales for the full year, boosted by strong growth in its North American business, its largest region. However, the company’s loss widened.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.2 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Newcrest Mining are down almost 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is gaining 1.5 percent.

In other news, Kerry Stokes will step down as the chairman of his majority owned Seven Group Holdings in a major shakeup for the company that reported a 440 per cent jump in net profits for the full year. The stock is down almost 5 percent.

Shares in Nine Entertainment are plunging more than 7 percent despite more than doubling its full-year profit and will pay a final dividend of 5.5 cents per share.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.724 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark Nikkei index just above the 27,700 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, even as traders remain extremely concerned as the country continues to struggle to contain the rapid spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus.

Traders were also upbeat after a Bank of Japan board member reportedly said the Japanese economy was headed for a recovery driven by robust global demand.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session relatively flat at 27,733.11, up 1.01 points or 0.00 percent, after touching a high of 27,897.72 and a low of 27,700.37 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 3 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Advantest is flat.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is flat.

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

Among the other major gainers, Shionogi & Co. and Mitsubishi Motors are gaining more than 4 percent each, while JFE Holdings and Showa Denko K.K. are adding almost 4 percent each. Rakuten Group, Dowa Holdings and Denso are up more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, DIC Corp. is losing almost 3 percent and Ebara Corp. is down more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 109 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each, while China is flat. Hong Kong and South Korea are bucking the trend and are down 0.6 and 0.2 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks stayed positive right through the day’s session on Tuesday despite turning a bit sluggish at times amid optimism about growth and hopes that the Fed might note begin tapering its bond-buying program anytime soon.

Among the major averages, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, both posted new record closing highs. The Dow ended with a gain of 30.55 points or 0.09 percent at 35,366.26.The S&P 500 settled at 4,486.23, gaining 6.70 points or 0.15 percent, while the tech-laden Nasdaq ended higher by 77.15 points or 0.52 percent at 15,019.80.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day, failing to hold early gains. France’s CAC 40 declined 0.28 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX gained 0.24% and 0.53%, respectively.

Crude oil prices moved higher Tuesday for a second straight session as concerns for energy demand eased signs of falling coronavirus infections in China, India and some other countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $1.90 or 3 percent at $67.54 a barrel.

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