Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders picked up some stocks at a bargain after the recent weakness in the markets amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Strong gains in mining and energy stocks also boosted the markets amid climbing commodity prices. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

Adding to the gains in the previous three sessions, the Australian stock market is trading sharply higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving to a tad below the 8,400 level, with gains across most sectors led by energy and mining stocks amid upbeat commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 97.80 points or 1.20 percent to 8,398.00, after touching a high of 8,402.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 99.30 points or 1.16 percent to 8,653.70. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is losing almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Santos is advancing more than 2 percent, while Woodside Energy and Beach energy are adding almost 2 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is surging more than 6 percent, Zip is gaining 1.5 percent and Appen is adding more than 2 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources, Newmont and Northern Star resources are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Evolution Mining is adding almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is skyrocketing almost 16 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is flat.

In other news, shares in TechnologyOne are climbing more than 11 percent after the enterprise software company posted a 15 percent increase in full-year net profit and booked a 17 percent jump in revenue. It also declared a full-year dividend of 22.45¢ apiece.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will on Tuesday release the minutes from its November 5 monetary policy meeting. At the meeting, the RBA maintained its benchmark interest rate at a 13-year high of 4.35 percent for the eighth straight session, saying that underlying inflation remains too high. The bank had previously changed its rate in November 2023, when it was lifted by 25 basis points to the highest level since late 2011.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 38,400 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by automakers, exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,429.37, up 208.52 points or 0.55 percent, after touching a high of 38,511.99 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is also adding almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.3 percent, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing almost 2 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic is gaining almost 3 percent, Sony is adding almost 1 percent and Canon is up more than 1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Japan Steel Works is surging more than 7 percent and Nidec is advancing more than 5 percent and DeNA is gaining almost 4 percent, while Fujikura, Hino Motors, Suzuki Motor and Ebara are gaining more than 3 percent each. Olympus and NTT Data are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Recruit Holdings is declining 3.5 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 154 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia and Taiwan are up 1.0 percent each, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.7 percent each. China is bucking the trend and is down 0.1 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Monday following the sell-off seen during last Friday's session. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 regained ground, although the narrower Dow ended the day modestly lower.

While the Nasdaq climbed 111.69 points or 0.6 percent to 18,791.81 and the S&P 500 rose 23.00 points or 0.4 percent to 5,893.62, the Dow edged down 55.39 points or 0.1 percent to 43,389.60.

The major European markets also turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday on concerns about likely shortage in supplies due to an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war, while a weaker dollar also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed higher by $2.14 or 3.2 percent at 69.16 a barrel.