Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with support from energy and technology stocks. Relaxation of coronavirus restrictions in Shanghai and reports that the Biden administration is looking at the option of lifting some tariffs on China to fight inflation is helping underpin sentiment. Asian Markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

Traders also await U.S. inflation data due on Friday to assess the Fed’s policy tightening path going forward. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rate by half-point at its meetings due this month and next.

Market participants also await a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting on Thursday for confirmation whether the central bank will raise rates at the July 21 policy meeting.

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, with materials, energy and technology stocks supporting the market. Banking stocks extended their losses after the bigger-than-expected interest rate hike.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 38.80 points or 0.55 percent to 7,134.50, after touching a high of 7,162.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 41.20 points or 0.56 percent to 7,359.80. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, OZ Minerals is adding almost 1 percent, Mineral Resources is edging up 0.3 percent, BHP Group is gaining more than 3 percent, Fortescue Metals is up more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing almost 2 percent.

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

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent, Afterpay owner Block is advancing almost 4 percent and Xero is adding almost 3 percent, while Appen is losing almost 3 percent and Zip is declining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 2 percent each, while Westpac is slipping almost 4 percent and National Australia Bank is declining more than 2 percent.

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

In other news, shares in Atlas Arteria are soaring more than 16 percent after fund manager IFM acquired a 15 percent stake in the tollroad operator and is mulling a full takeover bid.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.721 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 28,200 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street and amid data that showed Japan’s economy contracted less than initially estimated in the first quarter.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 28,208.92, up 264.97 points or 0.95 percent, after touching a high of 28,223.49 earlier. Japanese stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent, while Advantest is losing more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is losing more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 1.5 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are declining almost 1 percent.

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

Among the other major gainers, JGC Holdings is soaring almost 12 percent and IHI is surging more than 7 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and M3 are gaining more than 5 percent each. Mitsubishi Motors is adding almost 5 percent, while Sumitomo Realty & Development, FUJIFILM, Inpex, Mitsui Fudosan and Tokyu Fudosan are advancing more than 4 percent each. Oki Electric Industry, Tokyu, Tokyo Tatemono and Keisei Electric Railway are up almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, Dai-ichi Life Holdings is losing more than 2 percent.

In economic news, Japan’s gross domestic product contracted an annualized 0.5 percent on year in the first quarter of 2022, the Cabinet Office said on Wednesday – beating forecasts for a decline of 1.0 percent following the 3.8 percent increase in the previous three months. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP slipped 0.1 percent – again topping expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 0.9 percent gain in the three months prior.

GDP capital expenditure fell 0.7 percent on quarter, missing forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent after adding 0.4 percent in the previous quarter. External demand slipped 0.4 percent on quarter, in line with expectations after rising 0.1 percent in the three months prior.

Meanwhile, overall bank lending in Japan was up 0.7 percent on year in May, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday, coming in at 582.524 trillion yen. That’s down from 0.9 percent in April. Excluding trusts, bank lending rose an annual 0.9 percent to 506.387 trillion yen after climbing 1.0 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 132 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are up 2.1 and 1.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is down 0.3 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks shrugged off a weak start on Tuesday and despite staying a bit sluggish at times, kept moving higher and eventually ended the day’s session on a firm note. Strong buying in the energy section following a surge in crude oil prices contributed significantly to market’s positive close.

The major averages all finished with solid gains. The Dow ended the session with a gain of 264.36 points or 0.8 percent at 33,180.14, the S&P 500 settled with a gain of 39.25 points or 0.95 percent at 4,160.68 and the Nasdaq ended higher by 113.86 points or 0.94 percent at 12,175.23.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.12 percent, Germany’s DAX drifted down 0.66 percent and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.74 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as prospects of increased demand from China and supply concerns outweighed concerns about growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.91 or 0.8 percent at $119.41 a barrel.