CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street, reflecting gains by technology stocks and optimism about an economic recovery. However, gains are modest in most Asian markets amid worries about the surge in coronavirus cases in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
The Australian market is advancing following the positive cues from Wall Street. In addition, higher commodity prices boosted resources stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 40.10 points or 0.68 percent to 5,960.40, after rising to a high of 5,969.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 41.10 points or 0.68 percent to 6,075.40. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Wednesday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is rising more than 2 percent, BHP Group is advancing almost 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is adding more than 1 percent.
Gold miners are also higher after gold prices extended gains to a fourth straight session overnight. Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining are higher by more than 2 percent each.
In the oil sector, Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are higher by more than 1 percent each, while Santos is adding almost 1 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
The big four banks - National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank - are higher in a range of 0.6 percent to 1.0 percent.
Treasury Wine Estates reported a 21 percent decrease in full-year earnings before interest, tax and the agricultural accounting standard SGARA, and said it is exploring the sale of some of its brands and assets in the U.S. The company's shares are losing more than 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total value of owner-occupied home loans issued in Australia tumbled a seasonally adjusted 10.2 percent on month in May, coming in at A$12.31 billion. That missed expectations for a fall of 7.5 percent and followed the 5.0 percent decline in April.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. The local unit was quoted at $0.6981, compared to $0.6934 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is modestly higher following the positive cues from Wall Street. Upbeat Japanese core machine orders data also helped lift stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 49.65 points or 0.22 percent to 22,488.30, after touching a high of 22,545.95 earlier. Japanese shares closed lower on Wednesday in choppy trading.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Canon is declining almost 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent and Sony is up 0.5 percent.
In the financial sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.6 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is rising 0.6 percent and Toyota is up 0.1 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is adding 0.4 percent, while Inpex is down 0.2 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Itochu Corp., which owns a 50.1 percent stake in FamilyMart, said it plans to take full control of the convenience-store chain through a tender offer. The Nikkei reported that the offer will be valued at 500 billion to 600 billion yen. Shares of Itochu are adding 0.3 percent, while FamilyMart is down 0.7 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Eisai Co. is gaining almost 6 percent after the launch of its anti-insomnia drug Dayvigo in Japan. Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Fanuc are rising more than 2 percent each.
In economic news, the Cabinet Office said that the total value of core machine orders in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent on month, coming in at 765.0 billion yen. That beat expectations for a drop of 5.4 percent following the 12.0 percent slide in April.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 107 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Shanghai, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also higher, while New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong are lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday in choppy trading seen for much of the session amid relatively light volume, with a lack of major U.S. economic news keeping some traders on the sidelines. Economic optimism continued to overshadow the recent spike in coronavirus cases.
While the Nasdaq surged up 148.61 points or 1.4 percent to 10,492.50, the Dow climbed 177.10 points or 0.7 percent to 26,067.28 and the S&P 500 advanced 24.62 points or 0.8 percent to 3,169.94.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside for the second straight day on Wednesday. While the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.2 percent, the German DAX Index slumped by 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday as a slightly higher demand forecast for next year by the Energy Information Administration or EIA helped offset data showing a sharp jump in crude inventories last week. WTI crude oil futures for August ended up $0.28 or about 0.7 percent at $40.90 a barrel.
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