Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are hopeful of an end to the ongoing trade war at least by August 1 as confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump recently. Traders view Trump's tariff threats as negotiation tactics. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, reversing the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,600 level, with gains across most sectors led by technology and financial stocks. Iron ore miners were the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 37.60 points or 0.44 percent to 8,608.00, after touching a high of 8,632.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 36.60 points or 0.42 percent to 8,851.90. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are all losing almost 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is adding almost 2 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is surging almost 6 percent, Appen is advancing more than 5 percent, Zip is adding almost 3 percent, Xero is up more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining almost 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Northern Star resources is adding 1.5 percent, while Newmont and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.4 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

In other news, shares in Tyro Payments are tumbling almost 5 percent after the Reserve Bank announced it would ban surcharges on all debit and credit transactions under the eftpos, Mastercard and Visa networks in a bid to overhaul the payments system.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.655 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading slightly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday after opening in the red, recouping some of the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 39,500 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,507.28, up 47.66 points or 0.12 percent, after hitting a low of 39,379.32 and a high of 39,641.30 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.5 percent. Among automakers, Honda is flat and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.5 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining 1.5 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are advancing almost 2 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon is edging down 0.3 percent, while Panasonicand Sony are losing almost 1 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Renesas Electronics and Ryohin Keikaku are losing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Furukawa Electric is gaining almost 4 percent and T&D Holdings is adding almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 147 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each, while China, Malaysia and South Korea are lower by between 0.2 and 0.5 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks moved lower during trading on Monday and gradually ticked up into positive territory, finishing with mild gains.

The major averages ended the day in positive territory. The Dow added 88.14 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 44,459.65, while the Nasdaq gained 54.80 points or 0.27 percent to close at 20,640.33 and the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points or 0.14 percent to end at 6,268.56.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index gained by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.4 percent and the German DAX Index slipped by 0.9 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday on continuing concerns over OPEC's decision to increase output again next month. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dropped $1.24 or 1.85 percent to $65.79 per barrel.