CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with mainland China, Hong Kong and South Korean markets closed for holidays. Traders have reinforced bets on an additional rate cut by the U.S. Fed this October amid the ongoing government shutdown in the U.S. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.
Despite the absence of official macroeconomic numbers to rely upon, markets are pricing in a 92.5% chance of 25-basis-point rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve at its upcoming October 28-29 meeting, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Tuesday, adding to the slight losses in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well below the 9,000 mark, with weakness in financial and technology stocks as well as a mixed performance across other sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 20.80 points or 0.23 percent to 8,960.60, after hitting a low of 8,937.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 23.40 points or 0.25 percent to 9,256.60. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue is losing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed. Santos and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each, while Woodside Energy is edging up 0.4 percent and Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Appen is declining more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent. Xero is edging up 0.1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star resources, Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Newmont is edging up 0.5 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is declining more than 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.2 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank are losing almost 1 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.662 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 48,250 level, with gains in automaker stocks and a mixed performance across most other sectors.
The market remains upbeat after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected Sanae Takaichi, as Japan's first female prime minister. Traders are optimistic about her pro-market policies.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 48,264.98 up 320.22 points or 0.67 percent, after touching a high of 48,527.33 earlier. Japanese shares ended about 5 percent higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.5 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Screen Holdings is losing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.2 percent, while Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent. Mizuho Financial is flat.
The major exporters are mixed. Panasonic is gaining almost 4 percent and Canon is edging up 0.4 percent, while Sony is edging down 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Fujikura is jumping more than 6 percent and Sumitomo Realty & Development is surging more than 5 percent, while Nissan Motor and GS Yuasa are gaining almost 5 percent each. Renesas Electronics is advancing almost 4 percent, while Nippon Steel and Mitsui Kinzoku are adding more than 3 percent each. Sumitomo Electric Industries is almost 3 percent.
Conversely, NEC is declining almost 4 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries, CyberAgent and Fujitsu are losing almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the average of household spending in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent on month in August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday - coming in at 313,977 yen. That beat expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent following the 1.7 percent jump in July.
On a yearly basis, household spending climbed 2.3 percent - again topping forecasts for a gain of 1.4 percent - which would have been unchanged from the previous month. The average of monthly income per household stood at 608,578 yen, up 2.8 percent from the previous year.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 150 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 1.5 percent, while New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 0.9 percent each. Malaysia is bucking the trend and is down 0.7 percent. South Korea is closed for Chuseok, China remains closed for National Day and Hong Kong is closed for Mid-Autumn Festival.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday following the mixed performance seen during last Friday's session. With the upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The Nasdaq climbed 161.81 points or 0.7 percent to 22,941.67 and the S&P 500 rose 24.49 points or 0.4 percent to 6,740.28, although the narrower Dow bucked the uptrend and edged down 63.31 points or 0.1 percent to 46,694.97.
The major European markets moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.4 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday as OPEC's output increase for November turned out to be lower than expected and relieved concerns of oversupply. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.73 or 1.20 percent at $61.61 per barrel.
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