Asian Markets Mostly Higher Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders seemed cautious and reluctant to make significant moves ahead of some crucial economic data, including a report on US personal income & spending due later in the week. They also await comments from US Fed officials for additional clues on the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

Traders are also looking ahead to the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump as well as upcoming French and U.K. elections later in the week.

Recouping some of the losses in the previous session, the Australian stock market is trading significantly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving to near the 7,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks amid spiking commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 71.70 points or 0.93 percent to 7,805.40, after touching a high of 7,810.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 67.90 points or 0.85 percent to 8,043.00. Australian stocks closed significantly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy is gaining almost 3 percent and Santos is advancing almost 2 percent, while Origin Energy and Beach energy are adding more than 1 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is adding almost 2 percent, Zip is advancing more than 4 percent and Xero is edging up 0.5 percent, while Appen is losing more than 2 percent and WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent. Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources, Newmont and Resolute Mining are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Northern Star resources is declining almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent.

In other news, shares in Paladin Energy tumbled 7 percent on news of its plan to takeover Toronto-listed Fission Uranium to bring its proposed Canadian mine into production by 2029.

Shares in Collins Foods are soaring almost 10 percent after the KFC store operator posted a record revenue and a six-fold jump in net profit in fiscal 2024.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.666 on Tuesday.

Adding to the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving a tad above the 39,000 mark, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in exporters and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,001.39, up 196.74 points or 0.51 percent, after touching a high of 39,028.65 earlier. Japanese shares ended notably higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is flat. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is advancing almost 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.3 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing more than 2 percent and Screen Holdings is declining almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 3 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing 2.5 percent.

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

Among the other major gainers, IHI is gaining more than 4 percent and MS&AD Insurance is adding almost 4 percent, while Resona Holdings and Tokyo Tatemono are up more than 3 percent each. NTT Data, Nomura Holdings, Omron, Dai-ichi Life, Fukuoka Financial, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Concordia Financial are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Disco is losing more than 5 percent, Lasertec is declining almost 4 percent and Renesas Electronics is down more than 3 percent.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were down 0.1 percent on month in May, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday. That follows the 0.7 percent monthly jump in April. On a yearly basis, producer prices were up 2.5 percent, easing from 2.7 percent in the previous month.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong, Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.9 percent each, while Indonesia and Taiwan are down 0.5 and 0.6 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors stayed largely cautious ahead of some crucial economic data, including a report on personal income & spending due later in the week.

Among the major averages, the Dow closed higher, extending gains to a fifth straight session. The index ended up by 260.88 points or 0.67 percent at 39,411.21. The Nasdaq ended at 17,496.82, losing 192.54 points or 1.09 percent. The S&P 500 settled at 5,447.87, down 16.75 points or 0.31% from the previous close.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.53 percent, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended higher by 0.89 percent and 1.03 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices gained Monday on optimism about the outlook for demand and likely supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.90 or 1.1 percent at $81.63 a barrel.