Asian Markets Trading Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, as traders are relived amid the completion of first round of talks to diffuse the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, with more negotiations expected ahead. Traders also continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent sell-off, which some analysts have called as overdone. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

Meanwhile, news that Russian President Vladimir Putin has put his nuclear forces on high alert has led to worries about an escalation. The West continues to ramp up sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion, leading to worries about the impact on the global economy.

The G7 nations also agreed to exclude Russian banks from SWIFT, and Biden’s administration announced that it would ban US people and companies from doing business with the Bank of Russia, the Russian National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance.

The Australian stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, amid a spike in crude oil prices and as traders continue to monitor developments surrounding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis after they wrapped up the first round of talks.

Traders also await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on interest rates, which is widely expected to be held at record low.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 73.40 points or 1.04 percent to 7,122.50, after touching a high of 7,156.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 84.20 points or 1.15 percent to 7,407.40. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is adding almost 2 percent, while OZ Minerals and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.2 percent each. Rio Tinto is flat.

Oil stocks are higher, with Beach energy gaining almost 2 percent, while Woodside Petroleum and Santos are adding more than 1 percent each. Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining almost 5 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 4 percent, Xero is advancing more than 5 percent and Block is soaring more than 13 percent, while Zip is plunging almost 8 percent.

Gold miners are lower. Evolution Mining is losing almost 5 percent. Newcrest Mining and Resolute Mining are down almost 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources and Northern Star Resources are declining more than 3 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining more than 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are adding more than 1 percent each.

Commonwealth Bank agreed to sell a 10 percent stake of China’s Bank of Hangzhou for about $1.8 billion, exiting a nearly two-decade-old investment.

In other news, shares in Yancoal are soaring almost 15 percent after the coal miner posted record revenue and earnings for the first half, driven by elevated coal prices.

Australia’s financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC has launched court action against Crown Resorts, claiming that the casino giant breached anti-money laundering law a number of times over the past six years. The stock is down almost 1 percent.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at the record low 0.10 percent.

The manufacturing sector in Australia moved back into expansion territory in February, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed on Tuesday with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 53.2. That’s up from 48.4 and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The value of owner-occupied home loans in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.0 percent on month in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday – coming in at A$22.69 billion. That missed forecasts for an increase of 2.0 percent following the 5.3 percent spike in December. Overall home loans rose 2.6 percent on month to A$33.66 billion, while investment lending advanced 6.1 percent to A$10.97 billion. On a yearly basis, owner-occupied home loans rose 3.4 percent.

The ABS also said Australia had a seasonally adjusted current account surplus of A$12.677 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. That missed expectations for a surplus of A$14.9 billion following the downwardly revised A$22.0 billion surplus in the three months prior (originally A$22.9 billion).

Additionally, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in February, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Markit Economics showed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 57.0. That’s up from 55.1 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.726 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 26,900 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, as traders are relived amid the completion of first round of talks to diffuse the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis, with more negotiations expected ahead.

Meanwhile, traders remain concerned about the domestic coronavirus cases, though the daily new cases are off record highs. Japan is considering extending quasi-emergencies in 10 prefectures by about two weeks, as hospital beds see high occupancy rates. The quasi-emergency measures currently in place in 31 prefectures are set to expire Sunday.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 26,916.97, up 390.15 points or 1.47 percent, after touching a high of 27,013.26 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Monday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is edging up 0.2 percent. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.4 percent.

The major exporters are higher, with Panasonic and Canon gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 2 percent and Sony is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is soaring more than 8 percent, while Tokyo Electric Power and NEC are surging more than 6 percent each. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and BANDAI NAMCO are gaining more than 5 percent each, while JGC Holdings, IHI, M3, Odakyu Electric Railway and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha are adding almost 5 percent each. OKUMA and Konami Holdings are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Inpex and Fijitsu are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, there are no major losers.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in February, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.7. That’s down from 55.4 in January, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 115 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between1.0 and 1.7 percent each, While China and Singapore are up 0.2 and0.9 percent, respectively. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is down 0.1 percent. Hong Kong is relatively flat. South Korea is closed for Independence Day holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks regained some lost ground Monday morning after a sharp plunge, but faltered again and eventually ended the day’s session on a mixed note amid high volatility.

The major averages closed mixed. The Dow ended with a loss of 166.15 points or 0.49 percent at 33,892.60, after swinging between 33,469.31 and 33,963.62. The S&P 500, which briefly emerged into positive territory around later morning, ended the session with a loss of 10.71 points or 0.24 percent at 4,373.94, while the Nasdaq settled with a gain of 56.77 points or 0.41 percent at 13,751.40.

Meanwhile, the major European markets closed weak. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended 0.42 percent down. Germany’s DAX slid 0.73 percent and France’s CAC 40 declined 1.39 percent.
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher Monday amid rising concerns about supply disruptions in Russia. As Russia accounts for about 10 percent of the global oil supply, the sanctions by the West are likely to significantly hurt supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by 4.13 or 4.5 percent at $95.72 a barrel.