CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are in positive territory on Tuesday following the overnight gains on Wall Street as a rally in tech stocks and higher crude oil prices helped ease worries about rising U.S.-China tensions.
Investor sentiment was also boosted by news that several countries are planning to ease lockdown restrictions. The markets in Japan, China and South Korea are closed for holidays.
The Australian market is extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street and on higher commodity prices.
Investors are looking ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision on interest rates after the central bank wraps up its monetary policy meeting later today. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.25 percent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 58.00 points or 1.09 percent to 5,377.80, after touching a high of 5,378.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 59.50 points or 1.10 percent to 5,449.00. Australian markets reversed an early slide to end higher on Monday.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are higher in a range of 1.1 percent to 1.7 percent, while Westpac is adding 0.7 percent.
In the oil sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos and Oil Search are advancing more than 1 percent each after crude oil prices extended gains to a fourth session overnight.
In the mining space, Fortescue Metals and Rio Tinto are higher by more than 1 percent, while BHP is adding almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is rising more than 2 percent and Evolution Mining is adding more than 1 percent after gold prices extended gains overnight.
James Hardie Industries said it has suspended payment of dividends for full year 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and tightened its profit outlook for the year. The building products maker's shares are rising more than 6 percent.
Qantas Airways has extended the suspension of its domestic and trans-Tasman flights until the end of June and also suspended international flights until the end of July due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airline's shares are gaining almost 4 percent.
Kathmandu Holdings said it will open most of its stores by the end of this week as COVID-19 restrictions are eased and noted that its online sales rose 2.5 to 3 times in April compared to the year-ago period. The outdoor wear retailer's shares are higher by almost 10 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the construction sector in Australia continued to contract in April, and at a much steeper pace due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a Performance of Construction Index score of 21.6. That's down sharply from 37.9 in March and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6432, compared to $0.6390 on Monday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and Malaysia are rising almost 1 percent each, while Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Indonesia are also higher. The markets in China, South Korea and Japan are closed on Tuesday for Labor Day, Children's Day and Accession Day, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Monday after seeing early weakness amid concerns about rising tensions between the U.S. and China after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed on Sunday there was 'a significant amount of evidence' that the new coronavirus originated from a laboratory in China. Energy stocks helped lead the rebound, as the price of crude oil close higher for the fourth straight session.
The Nasdaq spiked 105.77 points or 1.2 percent to 8,710.71, the S&P 500 rose 12.03 points or 0.4 percent to 2,842.74 and the Dow edged up 26.07 points or 0.1 percent to 23,749.76.
European stocks moved sharply lower on Monday. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index plunged by 4.2 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index showed a more modest drop, edging down by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Monday, extending gains to a fourth straight session, lifted by reports about several countries planning to ease lockdown restrictions. WTI crude for June delivery rose $0.61 or about 3.1 percent to settle at $20.39 a barrel.
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