Asian Markets Mostly Higher On Global Cues

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, as market sentiment was boosted by the news that Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt reversed almost all of the tax measures announced by his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng in the mini-budget last month. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels after several days of volatility and heavy selling. Stability in the bond markets and weakening of the U.S. dollar also aided market sentiment.

The Australian stock market sharply higher on Tuesday, recouping most of the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to above the 6,700 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, led by strong gains in technology, gold miners and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 89.70 points or 1.35 percent to 6,754.10, after touching a high of 6,767.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 93.20 points or 1.36 percent to 6,947.50. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Mineral Resources and OZ Minerals are adding more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.2 percent and BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent. Rio Tinto is edging down 0.5 percent after lowering its 2022 iron ore shipments guidance following two unplanned rail outages. Shipments also fell slightly over the third quarter.

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

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is surging almost 8 percent, Zip is advancing almost 6 percent and Xero is adding almost 3 percent, while Appen and WiseTech Global are gaining more than 3 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Newcrest Mining is gaining more than 3 percent and Northern Star Resources is advancing 3.5 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Evolution Mining are adding more than 2 percent each, while and. Resolute Mining is flat.

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

In other news, shares in St. Barbara are plummeting almost 22 percent after the gold miner cut production guidance and deferred capital expenditures on major projects by a year.

In economic news, members of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Monetary Policy Board agreed that it was necessary to again hike its benchmark lending rate in the face of soaring inflation, minutes from the central bank’s October 4 meeting revealed on Tuesday.

At the meeting, the RBA raised its benchmark rate by a quarter-point – lifting the cash rate target by 25 basis points to 2.60 percent from 2.35 percent. This was the highest rate since mid-2013. The board also increased the interest rate on exchange settlement balances by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.629 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 nearing the 27,000 mark, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in exporters and financial stocks. The reversal of the planned tax cuts in the form of fiscal stimulus in the UK lifted market sentiment.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 26,985.66, up 209.87 points or 0.78 percent, after touching a high of 27,229.88 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent and Toyota is flat.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.1 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is adding almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.

The major exporters are higher, with Sony edging up 0.5 percent and Mitsubishi Electric adding almost 1 percent, while Canon and Panasonic are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the other major gainers, Yamaha is gaining more than 4 percent and Konami Group is adding almost 4 percent, while Recruit Holdings, East Japan Railway, Sharp and West Japan Railway are advancing more than 3 percent each. Marui Group, NTT Data, J. Front Retailing, M3, Keio and Daiichi Sankyo are all up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 148 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.3 and 0.7 percent each, while China, Hong Kong and Singapore are lower by between 0.1 and 0.2 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher in early trading on Monday and continued to turn in a strong performance throughout the session. The major averages all posted strong gains on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way higher.

The major averages moved roughly sideways in afternoon trading, hovering near their best levels of the day. While the Nasdaq surged 354.41 points or 3.4 percent to 10,675.80, the S&P 500 shot up 94.88 points or 2.7 percent to 3,677.95 and the Dow jumped 550.99 points or 1.9 percent to 30,185.82.

The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Crude oil futures slumped on Monday, extending losses from the previous session as worries about a recession weighed on the outlook for energy demand and pushed down oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November eased $0.15 or 0.2 percent at $85.46 a barrel.