CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets, with the exception of New Zealand, are higher on Wednesday despite the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism about U.S.-China trade talks.
The Financial Times reported that the U.S. and China have resolved most of the outstanding issues and are drawing closer to a final trade agreement. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow also said on Tuesday that the world's two largest economies 'expect to make more headway' in trade talks this week.
The Australian market is rising, touching a six-month high despite the mixed cues from Wall Street, as upbeat Australia retail sales and trade data boosted sentiment. Investors are now looking for news on the progress of the U.S.-China trade negotiations that are set to continue in Washington today. Mining and tech stocks are among the major gainers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 28.20 points or 0.45 percent to 6,270.60, after touching a high of 6,281.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 27.10 points or 0.43 percent to 6,354.90. Australian stocks ended with modest gains on Tuesday.
In the mining sector, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are advancing more than 1 percent each and Fortescue Metals is higher by almost 2 percent, following an increase in the price of iron ore overnight.
Among tech stocks, Appen is rising more than 3 percent, Afterpay Touch Group is advancing almost 1 percent and Xero is adding 0.6 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly higher after crude oil prices extended gains to a third straight day. Oil Search is adding 0.4 percent and Santos is edging up 0.1 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is declining 0.2 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent, while National Australia Bank is down 0.3 percent.
Gold miners are mixed after gold prices edged higher overnight. Newcrest Mining is adding 0.6 percent, while Evolution Mining is down 0.2 percent.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent on month in February - coming in at A$27.27 billion. That beat expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent following the 0.1 percent gain in January.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said that Australia posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of A$4.80 billion in February. That beat expectations for a surplus of A$3.70 billion and was up from A$4.55 billion in January. Exports were flat on month at A$39.83 billion, while imports fell 1.0 percent to A$35.03 billion.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7060, down from $0.7085 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is advancing despite the mixed cues from Wall Street and a flat yen. Optimism about the U.S.-China trade talks that are set to continue in Washington today boosted sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 115.15 points or 0.54 percent to 21,620.46, after touching a high of 21,676.75 earlier. Japanese stocks closed roughly flat on Tuesday.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a slightly weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric is higher by almost 1 percent, Sony is rising 0.6 percent and Panasonic is adding 0.4 percent, while Canon is lower by 0.5 percent.
In the tech sector, Advantest is advancing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is higher by more than 2 percent. Among the major automakers, Honda is up 0.3 percent and Toyota is adding 0.2 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is higher by 0.3 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding almost 1 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is declining 0.3 percent and Japan Petroleum is down 0.2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Kawasaki Kishen is gaining almost 6 percent and Screen Holdings is rising more than 5 percent. Taiyo Yuden and Shin-Etsu Chemical are higher by more than 4 percent each.
On the flip side, Nippon Suisan Kaisha is declining more than 3 percent and AGC is lower by more than 2 percent.
On the economic front, the latest survey from Nikkei revealed that the services sector in Japan continued to expand in March, albeit at a slightly lower pace, with a services PMI score of 52.0. That's down from 52.3 in February, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Individually, increased demand encouraged further job creation, but business confidence sank to an 18-month low. Also, the composite index fell to a 30-month low reading of 50.4 in March, down from 50.7 in the previous month.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 111 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong are advancing almost 1 percent each, while South Korea, Shanghai, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher. Meanwhile, New Zealand is lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Tuesday in choppy trading as traders were looking for more concrete developments out of ongoing U.S.-China trade talks before making more significant moves. Additionally, a report from the Commerce Department that showed a steep drop in durable goods orders in the month of February partly offset the positive sentiment generated by the upbeat manufacturing data released on Monday.
The Dow slipped 79.29 points or 0.3 percent to 26,179.13, but the S&P 500 inched up 0.05 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,867.24 and the Nasdaq rose 19.78 points or 0.3 percent to 7,848.69.
The major European markets moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil futures extended gains to a third successive day on Tuesday, ahead of weekly crude inventory data. WTI crude for May ended up $0.99 or 1.6 percent at $62.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, registering the highest settlement price since early November.
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