CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil as market sentiment improved on hopes that more oil tankers could soon pass through the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump called on other countries to send naval escorts to protect vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.
Tehran has also reportedly allowed a limited number of ships from certain countries, including Pakistan, India, and Turkey, to transit the critical waterway.
The pullback by oil prices helped ease recent inflation concerns, although the US Fed is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets later in the week.
The Australian stock market is trading slightly higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving up to near the 8,600 level, with gains in mining and financial stocks nearly offset by weakness in energy and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 7.20 points or 0.08 percent to 8,590.60, after touching a high of 8,632.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 1.30 points or 0.02 percent to 8,794.70. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is edging up 0.5 percent and Rio Tinto is advancing more than 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is declining almost 1 percent, while Santos, Origin Energy and Beach energy are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 2 percent and Zip is declining more than 3 percent, while WiseTech Global, Xero and Appen are down almost 1 percent each.
Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining is gaining more than 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is adding almost 1 percent, while Resolute Mining and Newmont are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Northern Star resources is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.
In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is expected to hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 4.10 percent from 3.85 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.708 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 54,000 mark, with gains in financial stocks and a mixed performance in most other sectors.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 54,013.73, up 262.58 points or 0.49 percent, after touching a high of 54,388.43 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is gaining more than 2 percent, while Advantest is losing almost 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are all gaining more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric and Panasonic are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Canon is losing more than 1 percent and Sony is declining more than 1 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is jumping almost 7 percent and Furukawa Electric is surging almost 6 percent, while GS Yuasa, Sumco, Mitsui & Co. and Daiichi Sankyo are advancing more than 4 percent each. Tokyo Electric Power, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Inpex are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Taisei, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Sumitomo Pharma, Renesas Electronics and Ibiden are adding almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Furukawa Electric and Sumitomo Electric Industries are sliding almost 4 percent each, while Lasertec is declining more than 3 percent. Komatsu and Fujikura are losing almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159-yen range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 2.6 percent, while Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.9 and 1.8 percent each. China is up 0.4 percent. New Zealand is bucking the trend and is down 0.2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a strong move back to the upside during trading on Monday after moving notably lower over the past few sessions. The major averages all moved notably higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.
The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still sharply higher. The Nasdaq surged 268.82 points or 1.2 percent to 22,374.18, the S&P 500 jumped 67.19 points or 1.0 percent to 6,699.38 and the Dow advanced 387.94 points or 0.8 percent to 46,946.41
The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices slipped Monday as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz showed mild signs of easing. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was down $5.38 or 5.45 percent at $93.33 per barrel.
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