CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid hopes a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. this week will help resolve the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The continuing drop in crude oil prices amid hopes of the potential opening of the Strait of Hormuz also aided market sentiment. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday.
Reports indicated that Tehran could consider allowing free passage for ships via the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz if a deal is reached to prevent renewed escalation.
In an interview with Fox Business, President Donald Trump expressed confidence the war is 'very close to over' and reiterated his claim that Iran wants to make a deal 'very badly.'
Trump also predicted that the 'stock market is going to boom' when the conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran is finally over.
The Australian market is trading modestly lower on Thursday after opening in the green, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,950 level, with weakness in gold miners, energy and financial stocks partially offset by strong gains in technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 26.30 points or 0.29 percent to 8,952.40, after touching a high of 9,017.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 12.90 points or 0.14 percent to 9,168.20. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Wednesday.
Among major miners, Rio Tinto is edging down 0.2 percent and BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining more than 2 percent and Fortescue is adding almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are losing more than 1 percent each, while Santos is declining almost 2 percent. Origin Energy is gaining more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 2 percent, Xero is advancing almost 7 percent and WiseTech Global is jumping almost 9 percent, while Zip and Appen are surging more than 8 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia Bank are losing almost 2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent and Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent.
Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 1 percent, Newmont is sliding more than 5 percent and Evolution Mining is losing almost 5 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Genesis Minerals are down almost 2 percent each.
In economic news, the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent in March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - unchanged and in line with expectations.
The Australian economy added 17,900 jobs last month, the bureau said - shy of expectations for a gain of 19,100 following the gain of 48,900 in the previous month.
The participation rate slipped to 66.8 percent from 68.9 percent a month earlier. Unemployed people decreased by 100 to 655,600, while youth unemployment climbed to 10.1 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is sharply higher on Thursday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 2.4 percent to the 59,550 level, with gains in index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 59,549.59, up 1,415.35 points or 2.43 percent, after touching a high of 59,569.25 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 5 percent Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent and Honda is edging up 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining 1.5 percent and Tokyo Electron is gaining more than 3 percent, while Screen Holdings is losing more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is adding almost 1 percent, Canon is up more than 1 percent, Sony is gaining more than 2 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 2 percent.
Among other major gainers, Daikin Industries and Trend Micro are jumping more than 10 percent each, while TDK and Taiyo Yuden are surging almost 6 percent each. Fuji Electric and Asahi Kasei are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Mercari, Sumco, Mitsui Kinzoku, Minebea Mitsumi and Rakuten Group are gaining almost 4 percent each. Mazda Motor, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Mitsubishi Motors are adding more than 3 percent each.
Conversely, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Komatsu and Kubota are losing almost 5 percent each. Yamaha Motor, Shiseido, Kioxia Holdings and BayCurrent are declining more than 3 percent each, while Hitachi Construction Machinery is losing almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is surging 2.2 percent, while New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, , Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is down 0.2 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks showed another strong move to the upside during trading on Wednesday following the rally seen over the two previous sessions. With the continued upward move, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 376.93 points or 1.6 percent to 24,016.02 and the S&P 500 advanced 55.57 points or 0.8 percent to 7,022.95, although the narrower bucked the uptrend and dipped 72.27 points or 0.2 percent to 48,463.72.
The major European markets also showed mixed moves on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the downtrend and inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as traders weighed the prospects of success in the upcoming U.S-Iran talks against the ongoing U.S. blockade on all Iranian ports across the Strait of Hormuz, which is keeping the supply concerns alive. West Texas Intermediate crude for May was up $0.36 or 0.39 percent at $91.64 per barrel.
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