CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are a sea of green on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid ongoing optimism about trade deals ahead of the impending deadline for U.S. reciprocal tariffs early next month. Market sentiment also improved as the truce in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran continued to hold without violations from either side. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.
The cooling tensions in the Middle East as well as favorable US inflation and US consumer sentiment reports also fueled hopes for interest rate cuts by the US Fed.
The Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,550 level, with gains across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks. Iron ore miners were the only weak spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 11.90 points or 0.14 percent to 8,554.20, after touching a high of 8,576.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 9.80 points or 0.11 percent to 8,782.80. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are edging down 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Rio Tinto is losing more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining more than 3 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Zip is advancing almost 3 percent, Appen is surging almost 4 percent and Xero is rising more than 2 percent, while WiseTech Global is losing more than 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Resolute Mining is surging more than 5 percent and Newmont is advancing 1.5 percent. Evolution Mining is edging down 0.5 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining more than 2 percent, National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.5 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent.
In other news, shares in Orthocell Ltd. are jumping more than 6 percent after the regenerative medicine company reported record revenue of $2.73 million for the fourth quarter, driven by strong demand for Remplir in Australia.
Shares in Insignia Financial are also jumping more than 6 percent after CC Capital said it continues to 'actively work towards making a binding bid for the company' and would finalise financing and investment committee approvals in the next two weeks.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in June, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global showed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.6. That's down from 51.0, 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 $0.656 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Tuesday, snapping a five-session winning streak, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 40,100 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and financial stocks.
US President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Japan, following the country's resistance to importing American rice. He also confirmed that the 25% tariff on Japanese auto imports would remain in place, due to the persistent trade imbalance.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,081.61, down 405.78 points or 1.00 percent, after hitting a low of 40,009.29 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent andUniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.3 percent, while Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.4 percent, while Screen Holdings is declining almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down more than 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing almost 1 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic is edging down 0.2 percent, while Canon and Sony are declining almost 2 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Tokyo Electric Power is surging more than 5 percent, while OKUMA and Furukawa Electric are gaining more than 3 percent each. Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Toto are adding almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Lasertec and Otsuka Holdings are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, large manufacturing in Japan accelerated slightly in the second quarter of 2025, the Bank of Japan's quarterly Tankan Survey of business sentiment showed on Tuesday with a diffusion index score of +13. That beat forecasts for +10 and was up from +12 in the previous three months. The outlook came in at +12, beating forecasts for +9 and unchanged from the previous quarter.
The large non-manufacturers index came in at +34, matching forecasts and down from +35. The outlook slipped to +27 from +28 in the three months prior. The small manufacturing index fell to +1 from +2, while the small non-manufacturing index was steady at +9. Large industry capex is seen higher by 11.5 percent, up from 3.1 percent in Q1. Small industry capex was down 5.6 percent after sinking 10.0 percent in the three months prior.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 143 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan and South Korea are up 2.1 and 1.6 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Hong Kong is closed for the Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Monday, adding to the strong gains posted last week. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again set new record closing highs.
The major averages reached new highs late in the session before giving back some ground going into the close. The Dow advanced 275.50 points or 0.6 percent to 44,094.77, the Nasdaq climbed 96.27 points or 0.5 percent to 20,369.73 and the S&P 500 rose 31.88 points or 0.5 percent to 6,204.95.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices closed lower on Monday amid a backdrop of easing Middle Eastern tensions and concerns of excess supply as OPEC plans to scale up production. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed down by $0.41 to settle at $65.11 per barrel.
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