Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Reflecting the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, Asian stock markets are also trading higher on Thursday, as softer-than-expected US jobs data drove bond yields lower, which retreated from 16-year highs. Traders are also indulging in bargain hunting after the recent slump in the markets. Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

The Australian market is notably higher on Thursday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moved above the 6,900 level, with gains in gold miners and financial stocks partially offset by losses in iron ore miners and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 37.10 points or 0.54 percent to 6,927.30, after touching a high of 6,929.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 36.70 points or 0.52 percent to 7,118.90. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is slipping more than 3 percent.

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

In the tech space, WiseTech Global is edging down 0.1 percent, while Xero is gaining more than 1 percent. Afterpay owner Block, Zip and Appen are flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent.

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

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.637 on Thursday.

Snapping a five-session losing streak, the Japanese market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 moved to a tad below the 30,900 level, boosted by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 30,886.51, up 359.63 points or 1.18 percent, after touching a high of 30,890.57 earlier. Japanese stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 3 percent and Honda is adding more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining 3.5 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 3 percent, Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is adding almost 1 percent, Sony is gaining almost 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is up more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among other major gainers, Japan Exchange Group is surging more than 5 percent and Aozora Bank is gaining almost 4 percent, while Daiwa Securities, Chubu Electric Power and Nippon Paper Industries are adding more than 3 percent each. Shizuoka Financial, Mitsubishi Estate, ANA Holdings, Ajinomoto, Mitsui Fudosan, Concordia Financial, Japan Airlines and Yamaha Motor are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Taiyo Yuden is losing almost 7 percent and Inpex is declining 3.5 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 148 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 1.1 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent. China remains closed for the week for the National Day holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after turning in a lackluster performance early in the session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, bouncing off their lowest closing levels in four months.

The major averages all finished the day firmly positive, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way higher. The Nasdaq jumped 176.54 points or 1.4 percent to 13,236.01, the S&P 500 advanced 34.30 points or 0.8 percent to 4,263.75 and the Dow rose 127.17 points or 0.4 percent to 33,129.55.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed nearly unchanged and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns about the outlook for demand amid worries about an economic slowdown. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $5.01 or 5.6 percent at $84.22 a barrel.