CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mixed on Tuesday in holiday-thinned trade despite the positive cues overnight from Wall Street on positive sentiment generated by last Friday's U.S. jobs data for January. Several markets in Asia are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Among the markets that are open for trading, the Australian and New Zealand markets are higher, while the Japanese market drifted lower.
The Australian market is notably higher, led by the major banks, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and on relief that the financial services' Kenneth Haynes royal commission report did not recommend anticipated harsh measures on banks.
Investors now look ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision on interest rates due later today. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 1.50 percent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 111.40 points or 1.89 percent to 6,002.60, just off a high of 6,002.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is advancing 101.50 points or 1.70 percent to 6,064.50. Australian shares closed modestly higher on Monday.
In the banking space, Westpac is higher by almost 7 percent and ANZ Banking is rising more than 6 percent, while National Australia Bank and Commonwealth bank are gaining almost 5 percent each.
However, mortgage brokers fell after the Kenneth Hayne report recommended reforms to trading commissions. Shares of Australian Finance Group are losing almost 29 percent and Mortgage Choice is lower by more than 25 percent.
Embattled insurance services provider Freedom Insurance Group has halted trade on its shares amid a fallout the banking royal commission's report.
IOOF Holdings has welcomed the royal commission's report despite the wealth manager being open to possible civil or criminal proceedings after the release of the report. The company's shares are gaining 13 percent.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is higher by almost 4 percent, Rio Tinto is rising almost 3 percent and BHP Group is adding more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are also higher even as crude oil prices declined more than 1 percent overnight. Oil Search is advancing more than 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is rising almost 1 percent and Santos is up 0.2 percent.
Gold miners are weak after gold prices edged lower overnight. Newcrest Mining is declining 1 percent and Evolution Mining is down 0.2 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$3.681 billion in December. That exceeded expectations for a surplus of A$2.225 billion and was up sharply from the A$1.925 billion surplus in November.
Exports were down A$634 million or 2.0 percent on month to A$37.924 billion, while imports sank A$2.058 billion or 6.0 percent on month to A$34.302 billion.
The ABS also said that the total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in December. That missed expectations for a flat reading following the 0.4 percent increase in November.
The Australian Industry Group said that the services sector in Australia fell sharply into contraction in January with a seasonally adjusted PMI score of 44.3. That's down significantly from 52.1 in December, and it falls well beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7218, down from $0.7230 on Monday.
The Japanese market drifted lower after opening higher following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and on a weaker yen.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 10.04 points or 0.05 percent to 20,873.73, after touching a high of 20,981.23 in early trades. Japanese shares closed higher on Monday.
The major exporters are mostly lower despite a weaker yen. Panasonic is losing more than 3 percent after reporting a 19 percent decline in third-quarter operating profit and lowering its full-year earnings outlook, while Mitsubishi Electric is lower by 0.6 percent and Sony is down 0.2 percent. Canon is up 0.4 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is advancing almost 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is down 0.5 percent. Among the major automakers, Toyota is rising 0.5 percent, while Honda is losing almost 2 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding 0.6 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.5 percent each. In the oil space, Japan Petroleum is down 0.7 percent and Inpex is losing 1 percent after crude oil prices declined overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Yahoo Japan is gaining more than 7 percent, Fujikura is higher by almost 7 percent and Tokuyama Corp. is rising more than 5 percent.
n the flip side, Sumitomo Dainippon is losing more than 3 percent, while Showa Shell Sekiyu, Fast Retailing and Nippon Express are lower by almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the services sector in Japan continued to expand in December, and at a stronger pace, with a services PMI score of 51.6. That's up from 51.0 in November and it moves farther above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also said its composite index dipped to a score of 50.9 in January from 52.0 in December.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 110 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is higher. Most of the regional markets are closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year, including South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
On Wall Street, stocks rose to two-month highs on Monday, led by technology stocks, as markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum as well as the positive sentiment generated by last Friday's monthly employment report for January. Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, amid uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S. and China along with the potential for another government shutdown.
The Dow climbed 175.48 points or 1.7 percent to 25,239.37, the Nasdaq jumped 83.67 points or 1.2 percent to 7,347.54 and the S&P 500 advanced 18.34 points or 0.7 percent to 2,724.87.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices retreated after moving higher earlier on Monday, as traders weighed energy demand prospects and supply situation amid OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela's oil exports. WTI crude oil futures for March ended down $0.70 or 1.3 percent at $54.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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