CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday despite the negative cues overnight from Wall Street as comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reinforced the Fed's decision to adopt a 'patient approach' with regard to future interest rate hikes. Investors now look ahead to the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam later today.
The Australian market is rising, reflecting gains by banks, mining and oil stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 24.20 points or 0.39 percent to 6,152.60, after touching a high of 6,156.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is advancing 25.20 points or 0.41 percent to 6,234.20.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is advancing 0.8 percent and Rio Tinto is adding 0.5 percent, while Fortescue Metals is down 0.2 percent.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.6 percent to 1 percent.
Oil stocks are also higher after crude oil prices edged up overnight. Santos is adding more than 1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is higher by almost 1 percent and Oil Search is rising 0.7 percent.
Gold miners are mixed after gold prices extended losses overnight. Evolution Mining is adding 0.8 percent, while Newcrest Mining is losing 0.5 percent.
Bubs Australia announced a long-term supply agreement with Bega Cheese subsidiary Tatura, noting that the deal will increase the freshness and taste of its goat milk powder. The infant formula maker's shares are gaining more than 6 percent.
Bellamy's Australia reported a 63 percent fall in first-half net profit on lower revenues, said it will not pay an interim dividend and lowered its full-year revenue outlook. The infant formula maker's shares are losing more than 3 percent.
Costa Group Holdings said its first-half profit fell 75 percent from last year, while revenues declined 2 percent. However, the horticultural company's shares are rising almost 6 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the value of construction work completed in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 3.1 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2018, coming in at A$51.092 billion. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.5 percent following the 2.8 percent decline in the three months prior.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7189, up from $0.7157 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is rebounding. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 104.66 points or 0.49 percent to 21,554.05, off a high of 21565.21 earlier. Japanese shares declined on Tuesday.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is declining 1 percent and Canon is lower by 0.3 percent, while Sony is adding 1 percent and Panasonic is up 0.3 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is rising 0.2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing 0.4 percent.
Among the major automakers, Honda is adding 0.3 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.1 percent. In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.4 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining 0.2 percent, while Japan Petroleum is adding 0.7 percent after crude oil prices edged up overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Showa Denko is rising 5 percent, Chiyoda Corp. is higher by almost 5 percent and FamilyMart UNY is gaining more than 4 percent.
On the flip side, Taiyo Yuden and Sumitomo Dainippon are losing almost 3 percent each, while Sumitomo Heavy Industries is lower by more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 110 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong are also higher, while New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed slightly lower on Tuesday in choppy trading as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered his semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, telling lawmakers the U.S. economy remains healthy, but warning about potential headwinds. Lingering uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S. and China as well as questions about the impending summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un added to the trepidation on Wall Street.
The Dow slipped 33.97 points or 0.1 percent to 26,057.98, the Nasdaq edged down 5.16 points or 0.1 percent to 7,549.30 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.21 points or 0.1 percent to 2,793.90.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dropped by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices edged up slightly on Tuesday after falling sharply in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about OPEC and rising prices. WTI crude for April delivery inched up $0.02 to $55.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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