CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are in positive territory on Wednesday following the overnight gains on Wall Street as upbeat earnings results from major U.S. companies and optimism about a possible Brexit deal boosted investor sentiment. According to media reports, European Union and UK negotiators were closing in on a draft Brexit deal.
The Australian market is advancing. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 61.80 points or 0.93 percent to 6,713.80, off a high of 6,715.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is rising 58.00 points or 0.86 percent to 6,821.30. Australian stocks edged up slightly on Tuesday.
In the banking space, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are higher in a range of 0.9 percent to 1.5 percent.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is adding 0.5 percent, Rio Tinto is rising 0.3 percent and BHP Billiton is up 0.2 percent.
Rio Tinto said its third-quarter Pilbara iron ore shipments increased 5 percent from the year-ago period and also affirmed its outlook for full-year Pilbara shipments.
Oil stocks are also higher despite crude oil prices extending losses to a second straight session overnight. Woodside Petroleum is adding 0.7 percent, Oil Search is advancing 1 percent and Santos is rising 1.2 percent.
Bucking the trend, gold miner Evolution Mining is losing more than 6 percent and Newcrest Mining is lower by more than 1 percent after gold prices fell overnight.
AGL Energy has offered to acquire telecommunications provider Southern Phone Co. for A$27.5 million. The electricity retailer's shares are up 0.2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.6752, down from $0.6776 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is rising. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is advancing 308.35 points or 1.39 percent to 22,515.56, after touching a high of 22,615.47 in early trades. Japanese stocks closed notably higher on Tuesday.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent, Panasonic is rising almost 2 percent Sony is adding 0.6 percent and Canon is up 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is higher by more than 1 percent. Among auto stocks, Toyota Motor is adding 1 percent and Honda Motor is advancing almost 1 percent.
Market heavyweight SoftBank is up 0.5 percent and Fast Retailing is higher by almost 4 percent.
In the oil sector, Inpex is declining almost 1 percent and Japan Petroleum is down 0.5 percent after crude oil prices extended losses to a second session overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Cyberagent is gaining almost 5 percent, Yaskawa Electric is rising more than 4 percent and Tokai Carbon is higher by 4 percent.
On the flip side, Tokyo Gas is losing more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 108 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and New Zealand are advancing almost 1 percent each, while Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also higher.
On Wall Street, stocks closed sharply higher as the spotlight shifted to corporate earnings news, with upbeat results from some big-name companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Johnson & Johnson generating considerable buying interest.
The Dow jumped 237.44 points or 0.9 percent to 27,024.80, the Nasdaq soared 100.06 points or 1.2 percent to 8,148.71 and the S&P 500 surged up 29.53 points or 1 percent to 2,995.68.
The European markets also moved mostly higher on Tuesday, with the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index surging up by 1.2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. However, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the uptrend and closed just below the unchanged.
Crude oil prices declined on Tuesday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand on the back of recent weak trade data from China and uncertainty about U.S.-China trade negotiations. WTI crude for November ended down $0.78 or 1.5 percent at $52.81 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX