CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Tuesday with notable gains following the overnight rebound on Wall Street as the markets shrugged off worries about speculative trading by retail investors. Optimism about talks regarding U.S. stimulus and the vaccination rollout picking up pace also boosted the markets.
The Australian market is rising for a second straight day. Investors now look ahead to the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy decision due later today. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at the record low of 0.10 percent.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 50.30 points or 0.75 percent to 6,713.30, after touching a high of 6,741.10. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 55.00 points or 0.79 percent to 6,977.80. Australian stocks hit two-month lows before reversing direction to end notably higher on Monday.
In the tech sector, Afterpay is gaining more than 6 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing more than 4 percent and Appen is higher by more than 3 percent.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is climbing more than 3 percent, BHP Group is rising more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are higher after crude oil prices rose overnight. Santos and Woodside Petroleum are rising almost 2 percent each, while Oil Search is advancing more than 1 percent.
The big four banks - Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking - are advancing in a range of 0.6 percent to 1.4 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of silver miners are falling as futures contracts for silver fell 2 percent in Asian trading after touching an eight-year high overnight. Investigator Resources is losing more than 23 percent, Argent Minerals is tumbling more than 18 percent, and Adriatic Metals is lower by more than 7 percent.
Gold miners are also weak even as gold prices rose overnight. Evolution Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is down 0.6 percent.
The Japanese market is extending gains from the previous session. Investors digested mixed corporate earnings results and shrugged off a report by Kyodo news that the Japanese government plans to extend the state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions by one month until March 7.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 192.39 points or 0.68 percent to 28,283.44, after touching a high of 28,301.65 earlier. Japanese shares ended higher on Monday after two straight days of losses.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is higher by more than 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is down 0.6 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is rising more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 1 percent.
Nintendo on Monday raised its full-year outlook for operating profit and Switch game console sales. The company's shares are advancing more than 1 percent.
Japan Airlines is adding 0.6 percent even as the airline reported a loss for the nine-month period on lower revenues and also forecast a wider loss for the full year.
The major exporters are mostly higher on a weaker yen. Sony and Panasonic are rising almost 3 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is advancing more than 2 percent each. Canon is down 0.3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota and Honda are adding almost 1 percent each.
Among the other major gainers, Shiseido Co. is rising more than 6 percent and Hitachi Zosen is higher by almost 6 percent, while Mitsubishi Materials and Dowa Holdings are gaining more than 5 percent each.
Conversely, Kyowa Kirin is losing almost 3 percent, Shionogi & Co. is lower by more than 2 percent and Yamato Holdings is declining almost 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 104 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are rising more than 2 percent each, while Hong Kong is advancing almost 2 percent. Shanghai, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are also higher, while New Zealand is modestly lower.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a significant rebound on Monday as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels after the markets saw their biggest weekly decline since October. Traders also kept an eye on heavily-shorted stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which have seen considerable volatility amid speculative trading by retail investors. The markets largely shrugged off a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in January.
The Nasdaq soared 332.70 points or 2.6 percent to 13,403.39 and the S&P 500 jumped 59.62 points or 1.6 percent to 3,773.86. The Dow underperformed its broader counterparts but still ended the day up 229.29 points or 0.8 percent at 30,211.91.
The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on Monday. While the German DAX Index spiked by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index shot up by 1.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent.
Crude oil futures rose on Monday amid optimism about vaccination rollout picking up pace and as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies' production cut agreement became effective. WTI crude for March gained $1.35 or about 2.6 percent to $53.55 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2021 AFX News
