CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are a sea of green on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid easing concerns about a global tariff war after US President Donald Trump confirmed major trade deals with Japan and the Philippines, which spurred expectations of further trade agreements as the August 1 deadline nears. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
The US and EU are also reportedly close to imposing a 15 percent tariff on most imports to avoid a broader trade war.
Traders also cheered comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backing US Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed seems unlikely to cut interest rates in the near future, as recent economic data revealed a stable US job market and decent US retail sales.
The Australian market is slightly lower in choppy trading on Thursday after opening in the green, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying just above the 8,700 level, with weakness in mining stocks and a mixed performance in most other sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 5.50 points or 0.06 percent to 8,731.70, after touching a high of 8,759.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 3.90 points or 0.04 percent to 8,997.50. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is edging down 0.2 percent and Fortescue is adding more than 3 percent after announcing it shipped a record volume of iron ore in the year to June and is forecasting stronger growth in the next 12 months. Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are flat.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent, while Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Woodside Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are losing almost 1 percent each, while Zip and Appen are gaining more than 2 percent each. WiseTech Global is flat.
Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is declining more than 3 percent, Newmont is down more than 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is edging down 0.5 percent, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are losing almost 3 percent each.
In other news, shares in Bapcor, which owns the Autobarn, Autopro and Burson brands, are tumbling almost 29 percent after the automotive parts group released an underwhelming trading updated, with sales weaker than expected in May and June. It also announced $50 million in post-tax writedowns and the exit of three directors.
In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in July, a preliminary survey from S&P Global revealed on Thursday with a manufacturing PMI score of 51.6. That's up from 50.6 in June and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI improved to 53.8 in July from 51.8 in June, and the composite PMI moved to 53.6 from 51,6 a month earlier.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.661 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is trading sharply higher on Thursday, extending the strong gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 2 percent to near the 42,000 mark, with gains across all sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks.
The market continues its momentum after the announcement of the trade deal between the US and Japan, which now faces a 15 percent tariff on its exports to the US, lower than the 25 percent that was threatened in a letter earlier this month.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 41,983.50, up 812.18 points or 1.97 percent, after touching a high of 42,004.92 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is adding almost 1 percent and Honda is also gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.2 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 3 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 3 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony is advancing almost 3 percent, Canon is adding almost 2 percent, Panasonic is edging up 0.1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Resona Holdings and Furukawa Electric are surging more than 5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Japan Steel Works are gaining more than 4 percent each. Hoya and Bridgestone are adding almost 4 percent each, while Mazda Motor, Terumo, Fuji Electric and Ryohin Keikaku are up more than 3 percent each. Nissan Motor, Concordia Financial and Fujikura are advancing almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, there are no other major losers.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 146 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are all higher by between 0.2 and 1.1 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages all moving to the upside after ending Tuesday's session narrowly mixed. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow jumped 507.85 points or 1.1 percent to 45,010.20, the Nasdaq climbed 127.33 points or 0.6 percent to 21,020.02 and the S&P 500 advanced 49.29 points or 0.8 percent to 6,358.91.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index surged by 1.4 percent, the German DAX Index advanced by 0.8 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices dipped slightly on Wednesday as uncertainty persists in U.S. trade talks ahead of the deadline. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery eased $0.06 to $65.25 per barrel.
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