Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, amid the continued spike in crude oil prices and as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off. However, the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries rendered the mood cautious. Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

There are concerns about global oil supply after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ban on import of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal. The surging energy prices will lead to higher inflation, encouraging the Federal Reserve to more aggressively raise interest rates.

Meanwhile, the third round of peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators failed to achieve significant results in Belarus on Monday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said the talks will continue, warned that Ukraine must agree to his demands for the conflict to end.

The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,000 mark, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, with gains in energy, technology, financial and mining stocks amid the continued spike in commodity prices, particularly crude oil.

However, the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries rendered the mood cautious.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 63.40 points or 0.91 percent to 7,043.70, after touching a high of 7,072.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 68.30 points or 0.94 percent to 7,321.20. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, OZ Minerals and BHP Group are edging up 0.2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is up more than 2 percent. Rio Tinto is edging down 0.4 percent and Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are higher. Origin Energy is adding more than 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is gaining more than 2 percent, Beach energy is up almost 3 percent and Santos is advancing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 5 percent, Xero is up more than 2 percent, Block is advancing more than 5 percent and Appen rising more than 1 percent, while Zip is losing more than 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is gaining more than 5 percent, Resolute Mining is adding more than 3 percent and Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.5 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are up almost 1 percent each.

In economic news, consumer confidence in Australia took a hit in March, the latest survey from Westpac Bank revealed on Wednesday with an index score of 96.6 – down 4.2 percent from the February reading of 100.8. This is the weakest print since September 2020, which is also the last time the index was below the 100-level indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.727 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is notably higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 just below the 25,000 mark, despite the broadly negative cues overnight from Wall Street, as traders picked up stocks at a bargain after the recent sell-off, even as the escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western countries rendered the mood cautious.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 24,973.73, up 182.78 points or 0.74 percent, after touching a high of 25,084.08 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is soaring almost 7 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding almost 2 percent and Toyota is gaining more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 2 percent, while Advantest is adding more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is flat.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 2 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing almost 3 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric surging almost 5 percent and Canon is gaining more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is slipping almost 2 percent and Sony is declining almost 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Isuzu Motors is soaring more than 7 percent, Fujitsu is surging almost 7 percent and Hitachi is gaining more than 5 percent, while Hitachi Construction Machinery and Komatsu are adding almost 5 percent. Unitika, Mitsubishi Electric and Pacific Metals are up more than 4 percent each, while OKUMA and Asahi Group are advancing almost 4 percent each. ANA Holdings, Yamaha Motor and Ebara are rising more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kikkoman is slipping almost 6 percent and Tokyo Electric Power is losing almost 5 percent.

In economic news, Japan’s gross domestic product expanded an annualized 4.6 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday – well shy of forecasts for a gain of 5.6 percent following the downwardly revised 2.8 percent contraction in the previous three months (originally -2.7 percent). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP was up just 1.1 percent – again missing expectations for 1.4 percent after shrinking 0.7 percent in the three months prior.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is gaining 1.4 percent, while New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 0.7 percent each. South Korea is losing 1.1 percent, while China and Hong Kong are down 0.1 and 0.5 percent, respectively. Malaysia is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks went on a rollercoaster ride during the trading day on Tuesday following the sell-off seen in the previous session. The major averages showed wild swings over the course of the session before closing in negative territory.

The major averages moved to the downside going into the close after a very volatile afternoon. The Dow fell 184.73 points or 0.6 percent to 32,632.64, the Nasdaq dipped 35.41 points or 0.3 percent to 12,795.55 and the S&P 500 slid 30.39 points or 0.7 percent to 4,170.70.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday amid concerns about global oil supply after Biden announced a ban on import of Russian energy products. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $4.30 or 3.6 percent at $123.70 a barrel.

Gas stations are raising prices along with the spike in oil futures, as AAA said the average price for a gallon of gas has reached a record high of $4.173. The national average gas price is up by nearly $0.11 a gallon from just yesterday and up more than $0.55 a gallon from a week ago.

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