Asian Markets Mostly Higher

Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous sessions following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid easing concerns about the retail trading frenzy. Upbeat corporate earnings results and optimism about more U.S. fiscal stimulus also lifted the markets.

The Australian market is advancing for a third straight day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 63.90 points or 0.94 percent to 6,826.50, after touching a high of 6,830.00. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 62.80 points or 0.89 percent to 7,090.30. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Tuesday.

In the banking sector, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are rising in a range of 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent after the Reserve Bank of Australia said Tuesday it does not expect to raise interest rates until 2024.

Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices rose to a one-year high overnight. Oil Search, Santos and Woodside Petroleum are all advancing more than 2 percent each.

In the tech sector, Appen is rising almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing more than 1 percent and Afterpay is adding 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile the major miners are lower. BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is lower by more than 1 percent and Fortescue Metals is down 0.5 percent.

Gold miners are mixed after gold prices fell overnight. Evolution Mining is declining 0.5 percent, while Newcrest Mining is up 0.5 percent.

In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total number of building permits issued in Australia jumped a seasonally adjusted 10.9 percent on month in December, coming in at 19,537. That follows the 3.3 percent monthly increase in November.

The latest survey from Markit Economics showed that the services sector in Australia continued to expand in January, albeit at a slower rate, with a services PMI score of 55.6. That’s down from 57.0 in December, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that Markit’s composite PMI slipped to 55.9 from 56.6 in December.

The Japanese market is also higher for the third straight day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 241.10 points or 0.85 percent to 28,603.27, after touching a high of 28,669.95 earlier. Japanese shares extended gains on Tuesday from the previous session.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher despite a slightly stronger yen. Panasonic is rising more than 2 percent each, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 2 percent each and Sony is edging up 0.1 percent, while Canon is declining almost 1 percent.

Panasonic on Tuesday raised its earnings outlook for the current fiscal year on stronger than expected sales in home appliances and rising demand for automotive equipment.

Sony Music Entertainment has agreed to buy all the shares and related assets of two units of U.S.-based Kobalt Music Group for $430 million.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 4 percent and Honda is higher by more than 2 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Mitsubishi Motors is climbing more than 12 percent after narrowing its outlook for full-year loss, while JTEKT Corp. and Hino Motors are higher by more than 5 percent each. Denso Corp. is rising almost 5 percent.

Conversely, Screen Holdings, NSK and M3 are lower by more than 3 percent each.

In economic news, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed that the services sector in Japan continued to contract in January, and at a faster pace, with a services PMI score of 46.1. That beat expectations for 45.7 and it down from 47.7 in December – so it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index fell to 47.1 from 48.5 in December.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 104 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore, Shanghai, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Hong Kong is lower, while South Korea is little changed.

On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply higher on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session amid easing concerns about the retail trading frenzy. The markets also benefited from a positive reaction to the latest corporate earnings results and remained optimistic about more fiscal stimulus after President Joe Biden met with a group of ten Republican Senators who have offered a counterproposal to his $1.9 trillion relief plan.

The Dow surged up 475.57 points or 1.6 percent to 30,687.48, the Nasdaq jumped 209.38 points or 1.6 percent to 13,612.78 and the S&P 500 shot up 52.45 points or 1.4 percent to 3,826.31.

The major European markets also added on Tuesday to the previous session’s strong gains. While the French CAC 40 Index soared by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index surged up by 1.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending a recent advance, as a move by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC and their allies to cut production helped ease worries about any excess supply in the market. WTI crude for March gained $1.21 or about 2.3 percent at $54.76 a barrel, the highest settlement in more than a year.

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