Asian Markets Track Global Markets Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates as traders reacted to the minutes from the US Fed’s recent monetary policy meeting. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.

The minutes reiterated that officials continue to anticipate that ongoing rate increases would be appropriate, although perhaps slower, to achieve the Fed’s dual objectives of maximum employment and price stability.

The Fed minutes noted all participants also raised their assessment of the appropriate path of interest rates, while none anticipated that it would be appropriate to begin reducing rates in 2023.

The central bank noted, “In view of the persistent and unacceptably high level of inflation, several participants commented that historical experience cautioned against prematurely loosening monetary policy.”

The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in technology and financial stocks, nearly offset by weakness in energy stocks after crude oil prices tumbled more than 5 percent. Traders also reacted to the minutes from the US Fed’s recent policy meeting.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 1.50 points or 0.02 percent to 7,060.70, after touching a high of 7,099.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 6.70 points or 0.09 percent to 7,255.80. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are declining almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.1 percent. OZ Minerals is edging up 0.2 percent and BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is declining more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is losing more than 2 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Zip is surging more than 6 percent and Appen is gaining 1.5 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is adding more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources is gaining almost 2 percent, Newcrest Mining is adding more than 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 3 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

In other news, shares in Warrego Energy are surging more than 9 percent after Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Energy sweetened its takeover offer for the company.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.682 on Thursday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Thursday, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving a tad above the 25,900 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with strong gains in technology stocks as traders reacted to minutes from the US Fed’s recent monetary policy meeting.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 25,804.12, up 87.26 points or 0.34 percent, after touching a high of 25,947.10 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining 1.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is edging up 0.3 percent and Honda is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is surging more than 4 percent and Advantest is advancing more than 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 1 percent and Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 3 percent and Canon is adding almost 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Nippon Sheet Glass is gaining almost 6 percent, while Rakuten Group and Z Holdings are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Sapporo Holdings is losing 3.5 percent, while T&D Holdings and Resona Holdings are declining almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the monetary base in Japan was down 6.1 percent on year in December, the Bank of Japan said on Thursday – coming in at 617.222 trillion yen. That follows the 6.4 percent decline in November and marks the fourth straight month of contraction. The monetary base was down 6.5 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2022, and it was up 1.5 percent for all of last year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 131 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore are up 1.6 and 1.4 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is slipping 1.5 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks saw wild fluctuations over the course of the trading session on Wednesday before eventually finishing the day mostly higher. The major averages spent much of the day swinging back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory after starting off the New Year on a negative note. The Dow rose 133.40 points or 0.4 percent to 33,269.77, the Nasdaq climbed 71.78 points or 0.7 percent to 10,458.76 and the S&P 500 advanced 28.83 points or 0.8 percent at 3,852.97.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surged by 2.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday, extending recent losses as worries about energy demand amid rising fears of a global recession continued to weigh on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down $4.09 or 5.3 percent at $72.84 a barrel.