Asian stock markets largely advanced on Thursday, reflecting mixed signals from Wall Street the previous night. Investors are reacting to a series of stimulus measures announced by the Chinese central bank aimed at bolstering the nation's economy. Additionally, heightened expectations for a significant interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at its upcoming November meeting are boosting market sentiment. Asian markets had shown mixed results on Wednesday.
### Australian Market:
The Australian stock market rebounded on Thursday, ending a three-session losing streak, aided by Wall Street’s mixed overnight cues. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index approached the 8,200 mark, driven by gains in sectors such as gold mining, finance, and technology.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose by 57.60 points, or 0.71%, reaching 8,184.00, with an intraday high of 8,199.50. The broader All Ordinaries index increased by 65.30 points, or 0.78%, to 8,438.10. Australian stocks had closed marginally lower on Wednesday.
In the major mining sector, Rio Tinto gained over 1%, while Mineral Resources edged down by 0.4%, and Fortescue Metals declined almost 2%. BHP Group remained flat.
Oil stocks displayed a mixed performance. Beach Energy inched up by 0.2%, and Origin Energy gained nearly 1%. Conversely, Santos dipped by 0.1%, and Woodside Energy fell almost 1%.
In the technology space, Afterpay’s parent company Block decreased by over 1%, and Xero slid by 0.5%. However, Appen surged nearly 6%, Zip advanced almost 3%, and WiseTech Global increased by over 1%.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac rose between 0.2% and 0.5%, while National Australia Bank gained almost 1%.
In the gold mining sector, Evolution Mining advanced by nearly 2%, Northern Star Resources gained over 1%, Resolute Mining climbed almost 3%, and Newmont rose almost 1%. Gold Road Resources, however, declined nearly 1%.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.684 on Thursday.
### Japanese Market:
The Japanese market rebounded sharply on Thursday, reversing losses from the previous session and following mixed cues from Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 index surged well above the 38,700 level, with gains across most sectors, particularly among heavyweight and technology stocks.
The Nikkei 225 index closed the morning session at 38,812.94, up by 942.68 points or 2.49%, achieving an intraday high of 38,815.38. Japanese shares had slightly declined on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group climbed nearly 4%, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing added almost 3%. Among automakers, Toyota and Honda both advanced by over 1%.
In the tech sector, Tokyo Electron jumped nearly 7%, Advantest advanced over 5%, and Screen Holdings gained almost 4%.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial rose over 1%, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial added nearly 1%, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial advanced almost 2%.
Among the major exporters, Canon increased by almost 3%, while Sony and Mitsubishi Electric both gained more than 2% each. Panasonic edged down by 0.3%.
Among other significant gainers, Ebara soared 8.5%, Disco surged over 7%, and DeNA, Konami Group, and Isetan Mitsukoshi all gained over 5%. Kansai Electric Power, Nintendo, Hitachi, and ZOZO added over 4%, while Socionext and NTT Data Group advanced almost 4% each.
There were no major losers reported.
### Economic News:
In economic developments, members of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Board indicated that the nation has largely overcome recent financial stresses, according to minutes from the central bank's meeting on July 30-31. They anticipate continued economic growth.
During the meeting, the BoJ raised its benchmark rate by 15 basis points and announced a plan to reduce bond purchases to approximately JPY 3 trillion by the first quarter of 2026.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the higher 144 yen range on Thursday.
### Elsewhere in Asia:
Markets in New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea rose by between 1.0% and 2.0% each. Singapore and Taiwan saw gains of 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. However, Indonesia and Malaysia fell by 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.
### Wall Street:
On Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Wednesday amid ongoing uncertainty about the near-term outlook. This followed recent gains that had lifted two major averages, the Dow and the S&P 500, to record highs. Investors evaluated the latest economic data and contemplated the central bank's rate cut trajectory.The Dow concluded the day down by 293.47 points, or 0.7%, closing at 41,914.75, thereby breaking a four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 also recorded a decline, falling by 10.67 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 5,722.26. Conversely, the Nasdaq managed a slight gain, ending up 7.68 points, or 0.04%, at 18,082.21.
In Europe, all major markets trended downwards. The Stoxx 600 decreased by 0.11%, the FTSE 100 in the U.K. edged down 0.17%, Germany's DAX declined by 0.41%, and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.5%.
Crude oil prices saw a significant drop on Wednesday, driven by uncertainties surrounding demand forecasts and reduced worries about supply disruptions in Libya. November futures for West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped by $1.87, or 2.6%, to $69.69 per barrel.
