CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street on upbeat corporate earnings results and news that British Prime Minister Theresa May's government survived a vote of no confidence in parliament.
However, gains are modest in most markets as investors turned cautious on worries about a likely increase in U.S.-China tensions after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal prosecutors are investigating Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies for allegedly stealing trade secrets from U.S. companies. Huawei could face an indictment soon, according to the report.
The Australian market is extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues from Wall Street. Banks and oil stocks are among the leading gainers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 13.20 points or 0.23 percent to 5,848.40, after rising to a high of 5,856.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 14.50 points or 0.25 percent to 5,908.20. Australian stocks eked out modest gains on Wednesday.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are higher in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent.
Oil stocks are advancing after crude oil prices rose overnight. Santos is rising more than 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is higher by almost 1 percent and Oil Search is up 0.8 percent.
Woodside Petroleum said its investment expenditure for 2019 will be between A$1.6 billion and A$1.7 billion, significantly higher than a UBS estimate of A$1.2 billion. The company also reported a 43 percent jump in revenue for the December quarter.
The major miners are also mostly higher. Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 2 percent and Rio Tinto is adding 0.5 percent, while BHP Group is down 0.1 percent.
Gold miners are mixed even as gold prices rose to a two-week high overnight. Evolution Mining is down 0.2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is adding 0.3 percent.
Coca-Cola Amatil has signed a five-year deal to supply beverages to Pizza Hut's 285 Australian restaurants. However, shares of Coca-Cola Amatil are down 0.2 percent.
Kogan.com reported a 9.7 percent increase in revenue for the six months to December 31 compared to the year-ago period, as record Black Friday and Boxing Day sales helped offset falling revenue from poor iPhone sales. The online retailer's shares are gaining more than 9 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total number of home loans issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent on month in November, coming in at 51,967. That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.5 percent following the 2.2 percent jump in October.
Investment lending in November fell 4.5 percent to A$9.33 billion following the 0.6 percent increase a month earlier.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7174, down from $0.7198 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market slipped into negative territory after opening higher following the positive lead from Wall Street and on a weaker yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is losing 48.53 points or 0.24 percent to 20,394.22, after rising to a high of 20,571.75 earlier. Japanese shares closed lower on Wednesday.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Sony is rising 0.5 percent, Canon is higher by 0.3 percent, Panasonic is adding 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.1 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is lower by more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the major automakers, Honda is down 0.5 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are advancing more than 1 percent each.
In the oil space, Inpex is up 0.2 percent, while Japan Petroleum is edging lower 0.1 percent after a modest increase in crude oil prices.
Among the other major gainers, Nomura Holdings is rising more than 4 percent, while Oji Holdings, Sompo Holdings and Nippon Paper are all higher by more than 3 percent each.
On the flip side, Screen Holdings is losing more than 4 percent, while FamilyMart UNY and Chiyoda Corp. are declining more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 108 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are all modestly higher, while Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday, partly reflecting a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from financial giants Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. Buying interest was somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to express uncertainty about the ongoing government shutdown. Stocks remained mostly positive after British Prime Minister Theresa May's government survived a vote of no confidence in parliament.
The Dow climbed 141.57 points or 0.6 percent to 24,207.16, the Nasdaq rose 10.86 points or 0.2 percent to 7,034.69 and the S&P 500 edged up 5.80 points or 0.2 percent to 2,616.10.
The major European markets ended mixed on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices rose modestly on Wednesday after sharp gains in the previous session. WTI crude for February ended up $0.20 or 0.4 percent at $52.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX