CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid continued optimism about a potential interest rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Nevertheless, gains are modest in most markets as worries about trade tensions resurfaced following news that the U.S. and Mexico failed to reach a deal during their trade talks on Wednesday.
The Australian market is advancing for the third straight day following the overnight gains on Wall Street. Gains by banks helped offset weakness in the mining and oil sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 30.10 points or 0.47 percent to 6,388.60, off a high of 6,390.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is rising 30.90 points or 0.48 percent to 6,474.50. Australian stocks eked out modest gains on Tuesday.
The big four banks - ANZ Banking, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank - are higher in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent.
Bank of Queensland has appointed Westpac's outgoing head of consumer banking George Frazis as its managing director and CEO, ten months after former CEO John Sutton resigned due to health reasons. The bank's shares are adding 0.6 percent.
In the mining space, Rio Tinto is declining more than 1 percent, BHP Group is lower by 0.5 percent and Fortescue Metals is edging down less than 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower after crude oil prices tumbled overnight. Santos is advancing more than 1 percent, while Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are declining almost 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mixed despite gold prices recording their best settlement overnight since mid-February. Evolution Mining is down 0.2 percent, while Newcrest Mining is rising more than 1 percent.
Helloworld Travel said it has acquired Willment Travel Group, a New Zealand agency focused on organizing sports tour. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Shares of Helloworld are higher by almost 1 percent.
Japan's J-Power will invest up to A$25 million in Genex Power to fund the company's construction of the 250 MW Kidston pumped storage hydro project in northern Queensland. Shares of Genex Power are gaining more than 8 percent.
In economic news, Australia will release April trade data today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S dollar on Thursday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6972, down from $0.6998 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Nevertheless, news that the U.S. and Mexico failed to reach a deal on immigration issues during their talks on Wednesday dampened sentiment.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 25.38 points or 0.12 percent to 20,801.48, after touching a high of 20,840.82 in early trades. Japanese shares posted strong gains on Wednesday amid a broad-based rally.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are lower by almost 1 percent each, while Sony is declining 0.6 percent. Canon is edging up 0.1 percent.
In the auto space, Toyota Motor is rising 0.6 percent, while Honda Motor is declining 1 percent.
Nissan Motor's shares are losing more than 1 percent after automaker Fiat Chrysler said it is withdrawing its proposal to merge with French car maker Renault. The French government reportedly said it would not support the merger unless Nissan guaranteed it would continue to collaborate with Renault.
Among tech stocks, Tokyo Electron is lower by more than 1 percent and Advantest is down 0.3 percent.
Among the major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining 0.3 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.4 percent. In the oil sector, Inpex is declining 0.7 percent and Japan Petroleum is losing more than 2 percent after crude oil prices tumbled overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Rakuten is rising more than 6 percent, while Fast Retailing and SoftBank Group are gaining almost 3 percent each.
On the flip side, JGC Corp. is losing almost 6 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors, Hino Motors, Chiyoda Corp. and Fujikura are all lower by more than 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 108 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong are modestly higher, while Shanghai and Taiwan are lower. The markets in South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are closed on Thursday for holidays.
On Wall Street, stocks extended gains on Wednesday from the previous session on optimism about a potential interest rate cut. A report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in May initially generated some negative sentiment, but was subsequently seen as adding to the case for a rate cut.
The Dow jumped 207.39 points or 0.8 percent to 25,539.57, the Nasdaq climbed 48.36 points or 0.6 percent to 7,575.48 and the S&P 500 advanced 22.88 points or 0.8 percent to 2,826.15.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Wednesday. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Wednesday after data showed a big increase in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended May 31. WTI crude for July delivery tumbled $1.80 or 3.4 percent to $51.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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