CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Thursday following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid optimism over U.S. stimulus talks and as the UK approved the COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Data showing that the services sector in China continued to expand at a faster rate also boosted sentiment.
The Australian market is rising following the mostly positive cues from Wall Street and on upbeat Australian economic data.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 18.30 points or 0.28 percent to 6,608.50, after rising to a high of 6,626.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 27.80 points or 0.41 percent to 6,839.10. Australian stocks closed little changed on Wednesday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is climbing more than 11 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining more than 4 percent and BHP Group is rising almost 4 percent.
Oil stocks are also advancing after crude oil prices rebounded overnight. Oil Search and Woodside Petroleum are higher by more than 1 percent each, while Santos is adding almost 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the big four banks - Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank - are lower in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent.
U.S.-based Waddell & Reed Financial said it has agreed to be acquired by Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management division of Macquarie Group, for a total consideration of $1.7 billion. Shares of Macquarie Group are down 0.5 percent.
Gold miners are also lower even as gold prices extended gains overnight. Evolution Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is down 0.2 percent.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Australia had a merchandise trade surplus of A$7.456 billion in October. That beat expectations for a surplus of A$5.8 billion and was up from the upwardly revised A$5.815 billion surplus in September.
Imports were up 1.0 percent on month following the downwardly revised 6.5 percent slide in September. Exports climbed 5.0 percent on month, up from the downwardly revised 2.6 percent gain in the previous month.
The latest survey from Markit Economics showed that the services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, and at a faster rate, with a seasonally adjusted PMI score of 55.1. That's up from 53.7 in October and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index improved to 54.9 in November, up from 53.5 a month earlier.
The value of owner-occupied home loans issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.8 percent on month in October, coming in at A$17.39 billion. That follows the 6.0 percent jump in September.
The Japanese market is modestly lower in choppy trading following the mixed cues overnight from Wall Street and as investors booked profits after recent strong gains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 41.10 points or 0.15 percent to 26,759.88, after touching a high of 26,844.00 in early trades. The Japanese market closed little changed on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing almost 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is down 0.7 percent. In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is rising more than 1 percent, while Advantest is lower by 0.5 percent.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are rising more than 1 percent each, while Sony and Panasonic are edging down 0.1 percent each.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is lower by 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up 0.3 percent.
Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are advancing more than 1 percent each despite news that Japan plans to ban sales of new gasoline-only cars in the mid-2030s as part of efforts to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the other major gainers, West Japan Railway is rising more than 4 percent, while Furukawa Electric and Denso Corp. are higher by almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, M3 is losing more than 4 percent, while Yaskawa Electric and Daiichi Sankyo are lower by more than 2 percent each.
On the economic front, the latest survey from Jibun Bank showed that the services sector in Japan continued to contract in November, albeit at a slower rate, with a services PMI score of 47.8. That's up from 47.7 in October, although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The survey also showed that its composite index improved to 48.1 in November from 48.0 in October.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid 104 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also higher, while Shanghai and New Zealand are lower. Singapore is little changed.
On Wall Street, stocks closed mostly higher on Wednesday after seeing early weakness amid lingering concerns about the economic impact of the recent spike in new coronavirus cases. Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from payroll processor ADP showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of November. Selling pressure waned over the course of the morning, amid optimism about potential coronavirus vaccines and on hopes lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new fiscal stimulus bill.
The Dow rose 59.87 points or 0.2 percent to 29,883.79 and the S&P 500 inched up 6.56 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 3,669.01, while the Nasdaq edged down 5.74 points or 0.1 percent to 12,349.37.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index fell by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose 1.2 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday, as data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended November 27. WTI crude for February delivery climbed $0.73 or about 1.6 percent to $45.28 a barrel.
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