(RTTNews) – Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Friday following largely positive signals from Wall Street overnight, while dovish comments from the US Fed announcing a series of interest rate cuts next year continued to boost sentiment. Most currencies in the region also strengthened against the US dollar. Asian markets closed mixed on Thursday.
The Fed left rates unchanged and hinted at three rate cuts in 2024, citing declining inflation and slowing economic growth.
Adding to the gains from the previous five sessions, the Australian stock market is significantly higher on Friday following largely positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is trading above the 7,400 level, with gains across most sectors, led by technology, mining and energy stocks, amid firmer commodity prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index gains 74.30 points or 1.01 percent to 7,452.20, after earlier hitting a high of 7,462.20. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 73.60 points or 0.97 percent to 7,673.00. Australian markets closed sharply higher on Thursday.
Among major mining companies, Rio Tinto is up almost 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is up almost 2 percent, while BHP Group and Mineral Resources are up almost 2 percent each. Oil stocks are usually higher. Woodside Energy gains more than 1 percent, Origin Energy rises by 0.3 percent, Beach Energy grows by more than 3 percent and Santos adds more than 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining 4.5 percent, WiseTech Global is up 1.5 percent, Appen is up more than 11 percent and Zip is up almost 5 percent, while Xero is down almost 1 percent.
Of the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank are up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking gains more than 1 percent. Gold diggers tend to be higher. Evolution Mining gains almost 1 percent, Newmont advances more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining rises 0.5 percent and Gold Road Resources adds almost 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources falls 0.1 percent.
Economic news shows Australia’s manufacturing sector continued to contract in December, albeit at a slightly slower pace, Judo Bank’s latest survey showed with a manufacturing PMI score of 47.8. That’s a marginal increase from November’s 47.7, although it remained below the boom-or-bust line of 50, which separates expansion from contraction. The PMI for the services sector also rose, from 46.0 in November to 47.6. The composite index rose from 46.2 in November to 47.4 in December.
On the foreign exchange market, the Australian dollar is trading at $0.672 on Friday.
Japan’s stock market has pared losses from the previous session and is sharply higher on Friday following largely positive signals from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark Nikkei 225 is trading above 33,000 with gains in most sectors, led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 33,080.37, up 394.12 points or 1.21 percent, after earlier reaching a high of 33,122.33. Japanese shares closed significantly lower on Thursday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group gains more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing rises 0.3 percent. Among car manufacturers, Honda gains almost 1 percent and Toyota adds more than 1 percent.
In the technological field, Advantest gains more than 5 percent, Screen Holdings adds almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron advances more than 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are each down 0.3 to 0.5 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial adds more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric gains almost 2 percent, Sony almost 3 percent and Panasonic increases 0.3 percent, while Canon loses almost 1 percent.
Other big gainers include Shin-Etsu Chemical rising over 6 percent, Yaskawa Electric rising almost 6 percent and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha gaining almost 4 percent, while Inpex, Pacific Metals, Taiyo Yuden, Mitsui OSK Lines and Keyence are adding more. each more than 3 percent. Resonac Holdings, Rakuten Group and Nippon Yusen KK are up almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 6 percent, while Nichirei, Nisshin Seifun Group and Nissui are each down more than 3 percent. Chubu Electric Power is down almost 3 percent.
In economic news, Japan’s manufacturing sector continued to shrink in December, at an accelerating pace, Jibun Bank’s latest survey showed on Friday with a flashy Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 47.7. That’s down from 48.3 in November and moves further below the boom-or-bust line of 50, which separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services index improved from 50.8 in November to 52.0 in December.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar is trading in the higher range of 141 yen on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong rose 2.9 percent, while China, Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan each rose between 0.3 and 1.0 percent. New Zealand and Singapore fell 0.5 and 0.2 percent respectively. On Wall Street, stocks continued higher in trading Thursday after the substantial rally late in the previous session. Buying interest was somewhat subdued that day, although the Dow Jones still managed to reach a new all-time high.
The Dow Jones rose 158.11 points or 0.4 percent to 37,248.35, closing higher for the sixth consecutive session. The Nasdaq rose 27.59 points, or 0.2 percent, to 14,761.56 and the S&P 500 rose 12.46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,719.55, reaching their best closing level in almost two years.
Major European markets were mostly higher that day. Britain’s FTSE 100 Index rose 1.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 Index rose 0.6 percent, although Germany’s DAX Index broke the uptrend and fell 0.1 percent.
Crude oil futures rose for a second straight day on Thursday, boosted by a weak dollar and an upward revision in global oil demand forecast by the International Energy Agency. January West Texas International crude oil futures spiked $2.11, or 3 percent, to $71.58 a barrel.
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