Asian Markets Rebound After Historic Sell-off

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as most markets rebounded strongly after the worst sell-off since 2008 amid fears about the world’s largest economy slipping into recession following some recent disappointing data on US jobs and manufacturing activity. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 7,600 level, with gains in some iron ore miners and technology stocks as traders cautiously await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July monetary policy decisions.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 21.70 points or 0.28 percent to 7,671.30, after touching a high of 7,713.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 23.90 points or 0.30 percent to 7,883.30. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining almost 3 percent and Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, while Santos is edging up 0.4 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining more than 3 percent, Zip is adding almost 3 percent and Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.1 percent, while WiseTech Global is edging down 0.2 percent. Xero is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 3 percent, Northern Star resources is down almost 2 percent, Evolution Mining is declining more than 2 percent and Newmont is slipping almost 4 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is gaining more than 1 percent and National Australia Bank is edging up 0.3 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In economic news, the total number of building approvals issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.5 percent on month in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday – coming in at 13,237. That was in line with expectations following the upwardly revised 5.7 percent spike in May (originally 5.5 percent). On a yearly basis, approvals fell 3.7 percent. The value of total building approved fell 7.0 percent to A$12.06 billion following a 0.4 percent rise in May.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Tuesday.

Rebounding from the sharp losses in the previous three sessions, the Japanese stock market is soaring on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving up nearly 3,000 points to above the 34,400 level, despite the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with strong gains across all the sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 34,416.32, up 2,957.90 points or 9.40 percent, after touching a high of 34,911.80 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 10 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is soaring almost 16 percent and Toyota is surging more than 11 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are surging almost 10 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is soaring almost 15 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 7 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 6 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic and Sony are gaining almost 7 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 6 percent and Canon is up more than 3 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Kikkoman is skyrocketing almost 21 percent, while Isetan Mitsukoshi, Renesas Electronics and Ebara are soaring more than 18 percent each. UBE, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Tokio Marine, Orix and Hoya are soaring more than 17 percent each, while Amada and GS Yuasa are surging almost 17 percent each. Nitto Denko and Kuraray are gaining almost 16 percent each.

Conversely, Ajinomoto is plunging more than 7 percent and Yamato Holdings is losing more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on month in June, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday – coming in at 280,888 yen. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent following the 0.3 percent decline in May. On a yearly basis, household spending sank 1.4 percent – again missing forecasts for a decline of 0.9 percent following the 1.8 percent slump in the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 957,457 yen, up 3.1 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 145 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 3.0 percent, while Malaysia and Taiwan are up 1.4 and 1.2 percent, respectively. China, Hong Kong and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.5 percent each. New Zealand and Singapore are down 0.7 and 1.0 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Monday, extending the sell-off seen to close out the previous week. The major averages all showed significant declines, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hitting three-month lows.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 576.08 points or 3.4 percent to 16,200.08, the S&P 500 dove 160.23 points or 3.0 percent to 5,186.33 and the Dow tumbled 1,033.99 or 2.6 percent to 38,703.27.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index tumbled 2.0 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index slumped by 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices move lower on Monday on concerns about the outlook for demand amid fears the U.S. economy could slip into a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September sank $0.58 or 0.7 percent at $72.94 a barrel.

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