Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as data showing a smaller than expected increase in U.S. producer prices raised hopes of a 50-basis point interest rate cut by the US Fed in September. They also now await the release of the more closely watched report on US consumer price inflation for July later in the day. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

The CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 54.5 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points and a 45.5 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut.

Australian shares are trading significantly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to near the 7,900 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by strength in gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 56.60 points or 0.72 percent to 7,883.40, after touching a high of 7,910.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 62.40 points or 0.78 percent to 8,104.60. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.3 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 2 percent. Rio Tinto Is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is edging up 0.1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 1 percent, while Santos is edging down 0.1 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, Zip is advancing more than 4 percent and Appen is soaring 10.5 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are adding more than 1 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is advancing almost 3 percent, Newmont is edging up 0.3 percent and Resolute Mining is gaining almost 2 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat. Evolution Mining is surging almost 9 percent after posting a 158 percent jump in annual profit.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday after opening well in the green, giving up some of the strong gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 36,200 level, with traders booking some profits following the recent strong gains in the market.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 36,155.26, down 77.25 points or 0.21 percent, after touching a high of 36,683.89 and a low of 36,074.71 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 3 percent and Toyota is also adding almost 3 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining 2.5 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 4 percent.

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

Among other major gainers, Sapporo Holdings is skyrocketing almost 14 percent, while Isetan Mitsukoshi, Tokio Marine, Socionext and Konica Minolta are surging more than 5 percent each. Sharp and Dai-ichi Life are gaining almost 5 percent each, while Fujikura and Chiba Bank are adding more than 4 percent each. Tokyo Electric Power, Sompo Holdings, MS&AD Insurance, Japan Post and T&D Holdings are advancing almost 4 percent each.

Conversely, Mercari plummeting more than 8 percent, Citizen Watch is plunging more than 5 percent and Comsys Holdings is losing more than 3 percent, while Lasertec and Nitto Denko are declining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 146 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is up 1.2 percent, while Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each. On the Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. The major averages all showed strong moves to the upside after ending Monday's trading narrowly mixed.

The major averages saw continued strength going into the close, ending the day near their highs of the session. The Nasdaq soared 407.00 points or 2.4 percent to 17,187.61, the S&P 500 surged 90.04 points or 1.7 percent to 5,434.43 and the Dow jumped 408.63 points or 1.0 percent to 39,765.64.

The major European markets also moved to the upside over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index increased by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday as concerns about the outlook for global demand outweighed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and likely disruptions in supply. West Teas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.71 or about 2.1% at $78.35 a barrel, snapping a five-day winning streak.