Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with markets in South Korea surging over 6 percent. Positive sentiment from easing treasury yields after the US Treasury Department announced upscaled buyback operations for longer-term debt was partially offset by another jump in crude oil prices that raised global inflation worries. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

The minutes of the US Fed's latest monetary policy meeting revealed many officials believe an increase in interest rates would likely be necessary due to partly the recent re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

The Fed said the participants who favored raising rates judged that doing so would likely help forestall the need for a steeper and potentially more costly sequence of tightening moves at a later stage.

The Middle East crisis continues without any breakthrough as the efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran to negotiating table have stonewalled with both the nations hardening their stance on the control over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump escalated economic pressure on Iran, describing it as the 'most crushing economic operation' ever imposed on a country. Trump threatened economic punishment against any country whose banks, businesses, airports or government entities continue to provide Iran with what he called a "lifeline."

The Australian market is trading modestly higher on Thursday, snapping a six-session losing streak, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving well above the 9,050 level, with strong gains in mining and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 27.00 points or 0.30 percent to 9,080.90, after touching a high of 9,111.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 37.50 points or 0.41 percent to 9,292.70. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent, Fortescue is advancing almost 1 percent and Rio Tinto is adding almost 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is edging down 0.3 percent, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are down almost 1 percent each. Santos is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent, WiseTech Global is jumping more than 6 percent, Xero is adding more than 2 percent, Appen is surging more than 5 percent and Zip is soaring almost 18 percent after reporting upbeat results.

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

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Evolution Mining are jumping almost 9 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Newmont are surging more than 7 percent each. Genesis Minerals is soaring almost 10 percent.

In other news, shares in Medibank Private are tumbling more than 8 percent after it said membership growth slowed last year amid cost-of-living pressures.

Shares in Super Retail Group are soaring almost 17 percent after the Rebel and Macpac owner's earnings beat expectations.

Shares in Universal Store Holdings surging more than 12 percent after it reported sales growth at its youth fashion outlets, while profit declined.

Shares in Beacon Minerals are advancing almost 9 percent after reporting a huge 325 percent jump in Lady Ida's Iguana Deposit ore reserves and outlines big plans in 2026.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.712 on Thursday.

The Japanese market is trading significantly higher on Thursday, reversing some of the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 65,950 level, with gains in index heavyweights and automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 65,982.49, up 656.07 points or 1.00 percent, after touching a high of 66,325.32 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is surging more than 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is gaining almost 4 percent, while Honda is advancing more than 4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are declining more than 1 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.5 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Canon are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Sony is adding more than 2 percent. Panasonic is losing almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Sumitomo Metal Mining is skyrocketing almost 10 percent, Kansai Electric Power is soaring more than 8 percent and Sumitomo Pharma is jumping more than 7 percent, while Mitsubishi Materials, Dowa Holdings, Tokyo Electric Power and Nissan Chemical are surging almost 6 percent each. Mitsui Kinzoku, SHIFT, Kioxia Holdings are advancing more than 5 percent each, while Mazda Motor, Nissan Motor and Daiichi Sankyo are gaining almost 5 percent each. Hitachi Construction Machinery is adding more than 4 percent.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is soaring 6.2 percent, while China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 1.2 percent each. New Zealand and Singapore are down 0.1 and 0.7 percent, respectively. Taiwan is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a modest move back to the upside during trading on Wednesday following the pullback seen over the past few sessions. The major averages gave back some ground after an early advance but still ended the day in positive territory.

The Dow climbed 119.65 points or 0.2 percent to 53,463.05, the Nasdaq rose 41.38 points or 0.2 percent to 26,331.09 and the S&P 500 edged up 16.22 points or 0.2 percent to 7,707.98.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day little changed and mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged down by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Wednesday as the closure of Strait of Hormuz continues, extending supply disruption concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $1.18 or 1.39 percent at $86.12 per barrel.