Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders react to US President Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum, where he ruled out the use of military force to take control of Greenland. Concerns about a tariff war between the U.S. and Europe also subsided after Trump said he would not go forward with the tariffs he threatened to impose on several European nations. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

Trump had announced reaching a Greenland deal “framework” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

The Australian market is trading notably higher on Thursday, snapping the three-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 8,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by financial and energy stocks. Gold miner stocks were the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 56.70 points or 0.65 percent to 8,839.60, after touching a high of 8,864.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 53.10 points or 0.58 percent to 9,161.70. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 3 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Fortescue is losing almost 3 percent.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Zip and Appen are gaining almost 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is edging up 0.1 percent. Xero is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is advancing more than 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding 1.5 percent.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is down more than 2 percent, Evolution Mining is declining more than 4 percent, Northern Star Resources is tumbling more than 6 percent, Genesis Minerals is losing more than 3 percent and Newmont is slipping more than 4 percent.

In economic news, the unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. That was well below forecasts for 4.4 percent and down from 4.3 percent in November. The participation rate was 66.7 percent – unchanged from November but missing expectations for 66.8 percent.

The Australian economy added 65,200 jobs last month – well exceeding forecasts for an increase of 28,300 following the loss of 21,300 jobs in the previous month. Full-time employment increased by 54,800 to 10,101,100 people, while part-time employment increased by 10,400 to 4,582,900 people.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.679 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is sharply higher on Thursday, snapping the five-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging almost 2 percent to above the 53,750 level, with gains across most sectors led financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 53,760.85, up 986.21 points or 1.87 percent, after touching a high of 53,827.85 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Screen Holdings is surging almost 7 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 4 percent.

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

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.5 percent, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 3 percent, while Sony is losing almost 2 percent.

Among other major gainers, Disco is soaring more than 13 percent, Toho is surging more than 6 percent, Resonac Holdings is gaining almost 5 percent and Omron is adding more than 4 percent, while Toppan Holdings, Nikon, Lasertec and Shionogi & Co. are advancing almost 4 percent each. Sumco is up more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi Motors, Mitsui Chemicals and Mazda Motor are rising almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Sumitomo Metal Mining is slipping almost 5 percent and Aeon is losing more than 4 percent, while Ebara and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are declining more than 3 percent each.
M3 and IHI are down almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 105.7 billion yen in December, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday. That missed forecasts for a surplus of 357.0 billion yen and was down from 316.7 billion yen in November.

Exports were up 5.1 percent on year at 9.906 trillion yen – shy of expectations for a gain of 6.1 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous month. Imports climbed an annual 5.3 percent to 9.978 trillion yen versus forecasts for an increase of 3.6 percent and up from 1.3 percent from a month earlier.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are up 2.1 and 1.8 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Hong Kong is bucking the trend and is up 0.1 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks saw significant volatility over the course of the trading day on Wednesday after showing a strong move to the upside early in the session. The major averages largely gave back their early gains in late morning trading before experiencing an afternoon resurgence and ending the day sharply higher.

The major averages all posted strong gains on the day, partly offsetting the steep drop seen on Tuesday. The Dow surged 588.64 points or 1.2 percent to 49,077.23, the Nasdaq shot up 270.50 points or 1.2 percent to 23,224.82 and the S&P 500 jumped 78.76 points or 1.2 percent to 6,875.62.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index both inched up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices posted gains Wednesday as traders assessed Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum, where he sought negotiations on the U.S. bid to acquire Greenland. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $0.10 or 0.17 percent at $60.46 per barrel.