CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, on optimism about amicable trade deals being reached between the US and its trade partners over the weekend after the recent uncertainty. Major currencies in the region also strengthened against the US dollar. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
A report showing an unexpected increase by job openings in the U.S. in the month of April portrayed a healthy U.S. labor market despite increased risks from trade policy.
Traders continued to await further developments on the trade front a month ahead of the expiration of US President Donald Trump's 90-day tariff pause.
Australian shares are trading significantly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,500 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 65.00 points or 0.77 percent to 8,531.70, after touching a high of 8,533.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 68.20 points or 0.79 percent to 8,759.10. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue metals are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining more than 2 percent, while Beach energy and Santos are adding more than 1 percent each. Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 3 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.4 percent, Zip is advancing almost 5 percent and Appen is adding almost 4 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.4 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, Resolute Mining is declining more than 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is down almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources and Newmont are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.
In other news, shares in PointsBet are jumping more than 10 percent after Japanese entertainment giant Mixi lobbed a higher bid to buy PointsBet and stave off a takeover by Australian bookmaker Betr.
In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent and was down from 0.6 percent in the three months prior. On an annualized basis, GDP was up 1.3 percent - again shy of forecasts for an expansion of 1.5 percent and steady from the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit it at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 50.6. That's down from 51.0 in April, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.647 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher on Wednesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 37,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 37,834.66, up 387.85 points or 1.04 percent, after touching a high of 37,868.42 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is also up almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.1 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is adding 1.5 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing almost 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, Mizuho Financial is advancing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.4 percent.
Among the major exporters, Canon is edging down 0.1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each.
Among other major gainers, Sumitomo Pharma is soaring almost 10 percent, Shiseido is surging more than 5 percent and Furukawa Electric is gaining more than 4 percent, while Fuji Electric and Renesas Electronics are advancing almost 4 percent each. Japan Steel Works, Mercari and Yaskawa Electric are adding almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, there are no other major losers.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are up 2.3 and 2.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 1.0 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is down 0.3 percent.
On the Wall Street, stocks saw further upside during trading on Tuesday after recovering from early weakness to end Monday's session mostly higher. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached their best closing levels in over three months.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Nasdaq advanced 156.34 points or 0.8 percent to 19,398.96, the S&P 500 climbed 34.43 points or 0.6 percent to 5,970.37 and the Dow rose 214.16 points or 0.5 percent to 42,519.64.
The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Tuesday amid ongoing concerns about supply due to escalating geopolitical tensions and stuttering U.S.-Iran nuclear talks. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery jumped $0.89 or 1.4 percent to $63.41 a barrel.
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