Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to soft U.S. inflation data that helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The US Fed also left interest rates unchanged as widely expected and revealed officials now expect only one interest rate cut this year. Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

The Fed acknowledged modest further progress toward its inflation objective in recent months but said officials still need greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards the target before they will consider lowering rates.

The Australian market is notably higher on Thursday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 7,700 level, with gains across most sectors led by gold miners and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 33.10 points or 0.43 percent to 7,748.60, after touching a high of 7,777.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 37.70 points or 0.47 percent to 8,000.80. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.4 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy is adding almost 2 percent and Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent, while Woodside Energy is edging down 0.1 percent. Santos is flat.

In the tech space, Xero and WiseTech Global are advancing almost 3 percent each, while Appen is adding more than 2 percent, Zip is surging almost 7 percent and Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is surging almost 5 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing almost 2 percent and Newmont is adding almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Thursday.

Recouping some of the losses in the previous session, the Japanese market is slightly lower on Thursday after opening in the green, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving a tad above the 38,900 level, with weakness in automakers, exporters and financial stocks partially offset by gains in some index heavyweights.

Traders also remain cautious ahead of the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision later in the week, with the central bank widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,831.36, down 45.35 points or 0.12 percent, after touching a high of 39,252.44 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is losing almost 2 percent and Honda is down almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is advancing almost 3 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are losing more than 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Canon is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 3 percent and Panasonic is down almost 1 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Renesas Electronics is surging almost 7 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, CyberAgent and Taiyo Yuden are gaining more than 3 percent each. Disco, Daikin Industries, Recruit Holdings and Murata Manufacturing are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is losing almost 4 percent, while Konica Minolta, Denka, Tokyo Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power and Sumitomo Chemical are declining more than 3 percent each. T&D Holdings, Astellas Pharma, Concordia Financial, Mitsubishi, Eisai, Mitsubishi Chemical and Kansai Electric Power are down almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 156 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are up 1.5 and 1.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 0.6 percent each. China is bucking the trend and is down 0.2 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks saw some volatility after an early rally on tamer than expected consumer price inflation data, but still managed to end Wednesday's trading mostly higher following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement.

The Nasdaq surged 264.89 points or 1.5 percent to a new record closing high of 17,608.44 and the S&P 500 also reached a new record closing high, jumping 45.71 points or 0.9 percent to 5,421.03. Meanwhile, the narrower Dow ended the day down 35.21 points or 0.1 percent at 38,712.21.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved notably higher on the day. While the German DAX Index shot up by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.0 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday on hopes of increased demand and tighter supply conditions later in the year, as well as a weak dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July rose $0.60 at $78.50 a barrel.