Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders react to the several measures announced by the People’s Bank of China to ramp up efforts to boost growth, including interest rate cuts. Optimism about the outlook for the economy after the US Fed’s interest rate cut last week in aiding market sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

The Fed is expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months amid signs of slowing inflation even as the economy remains relatively strong. According to CME FedWatch, Fed futures traders currently price in 75 bps in rate cuts by the end of this year, and nearly 200 bps in cuts by December 2025.

Extending the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading notably lower after opening in the green on Tuesday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to remain above the 8,100 level, with weakness in gold miners and financial stocks as traders remain cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy decision later in the day.

The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 4.35 percent.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 29.80 points or 0.37 percent to 8,123.10, after hitting a low of 8,111.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 21.80 points or 0.26 percent to 8,362.40. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos and Beach energy are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is losing almost 1 percent, while Zip, Xero and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.5 percent.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star resources and Evolution Mining are edging down 0.1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent. Newmont is edging up 0.1 percent. Gold Road Resources is flat.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 percent each. Commonwealth Bank is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.685 on Tuesday.

Adding to the gains in the previous three sessions, the Japanese stock market is notably higher in post-holiday trading on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving well above the 37,900 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains is some index heavyweights and exporter stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,974.98, up 251.07 points or 0.67 percent, after touching a high of 38,427.15 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.5 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing 1.5 percent and Tokyo Electron is down almost 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon and Panasonic are adding almost 1 percent each, while Sony is gaining more than 3 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Japan Steel Works is soaring almost 8 percent and Hitachi is surging almost 5 percent, while NTT Data and Isetan Mitsukoshi are gaining more than 4 percent each. Japan Exchange Group, TDK, Omron, IHI, Kikkoman, Obayashi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are adding almost 4 percent each, while J. Front Retailing, Fujikura and Nidec are advancing more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Renesas Electronics is losing almost 5 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo and Resonac Holdings are declining almost 4 percent each. East Japan Railway, Socionext and Nitori Holdings are down almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and China are up 2.5 and 1.6 percent, respectively, while Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each. New Zealand and Taiwan are down 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively. South Korea is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Monday and the Dow and S&P 500 posted record highs, although the gains were just marginal, as investors largely made cautious moves ahead of some crucial economic data and Fed speeches.

The Dow ended up by 61.29 points or 0.15 percent at 42,124.65. The S&P 500 closed up 16.02 points or 0.28 percent at 5,718.57, while the Nasdaq settled with a gain of 25.95 points or 0.14 percent at 17,974.27.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains, slumping midday on demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell $0.47 or 0.66 percent to $70.53 per barrel.

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