CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders react positively to reports that Israel and Iran have agreed to a 'complete and total ceasefire' to be phased in over 24 hours. US Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said she favored a rate cut 'as soon' as July if inflationary pressures remain contained. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.
US Fed Governor Christopher Waller also said he doesn't expect tariffs to boost inflation significantly and that there is room for a rate cut as early as July.
Additionally, reports of potential tariff reductions between the U.S. and China helped ease market anxieties.
The Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, snapping a five-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,550 level, with gains in mining, financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks amid tumbling crude oil prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 78.90 points or 0.93 percent to 8,553.80, after touching a high of 8,574.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 83.40 points or 0.96 percent to 8,771.40. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent, Rio Tinto is rising almost 3 percent, Fortescue Metals is advancing more than 3 percent and Mineral Resources is adding almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is losing 2.5 percent, Beach energy is sliding 3.5 percent, Woodside Energy is tumbling more than 7 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is up almost 1 percent, Xero is adding more than 1 percent, Zip is surging more than 6 percent, WiseTech Global is gaining almost 4 percent and Appen is jumping almost 8 percent.
Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining is gaining almost 2 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.2 percent, while Northern Star resources and Newmont are edging down 0.4 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Westpac is adding almost 3 percent and ANZ Banking is up more than 1 percent.
In other news, shares in Collins Foods are skyrocketing almost 19 percent after the KFC operator reported better-than-expected results for the full-year 2025. However, it cut dividend by 7% due to a decline in profit.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.648 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous three sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 38,750 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,769.12, up 415.03 points or 1.08 percent, after touching a high of 38,990.11 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.2 percent, Screen Holdings is adding almost 5 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 4 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.5 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Canon is edging up 0.3 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 2 percent and Sony is gaining almost 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.4 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Lasertec is soaring almost 10 percent, Furukawa Electric is surging more than 6 percent and Fujikura is gaining more than 4 percent, while Tokyo Electric Power, Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Electric Industries are adding more than 3 percent each. Ebara is advancing almost 3 percent.
Conversely, Inpex is losing almost 5 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the mid-145 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.5 and 2.2 percent each. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is down 0.1 percent. New Zealand is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied late in the day to push Wall Street higher on Monday after some early indecision. The major averages opened lower and hugged the unchanged line for much of the day as investors waited for Iran's response to the weekend U.S. air strikes on its nuclear sites.
For the day, the Dow jumped 374.96 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 42,581.78, while the NASDAQ rallied 183.56 points or 0.94 percent to close at 19,630.97 and the S&P 500 climbed 57.33 points or 0.96 percent to end at 6,025.17.
Meanwhile, the major European stocks finished modestly lower on Monday in the aftermath and uncertainty following the U.S. air strikes in Iran. Germany's DAX sank 81.54 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 23,269.01, while the FTSE in London dipped 16.61 points or 0.19 percent to close at 8,758.04 and the CAC 40 in France shed 52.09 points or 0.69 percent to end at 7,537.57.
Crude oil prices were on a roller coaster ride on Monday, moving sharply higher earlier in the day in response to the U.S. bombing attack in Iran. But as it looks like Iran won't try to block the Strait of Hormuz, prices plummeted later in the day. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery plunged $5.00 of 6.77 percent to $68.84 per barrel.
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