Asian Markets Track Global Markets Higher

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Monday, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, as traders chose to pick up stocks that had taken a severe beating in recent sessions, despite concerns about slowing growth and sharp interest rate hikes. Trading is also thin in the region with markets in China, Hong Kong and South Korea on a holiday. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Friday.

The Australian stock market is significantly higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 6,900 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across most sectors, led by materials and energy stocks amid firm commodity prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 76.80 points or 1.11 percent to 6,971.00, after touching a high of 6,973.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 76.10 points or 1.07 percent to 7,215.10. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Friday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is advancing almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent and OZ Minerals is up more than 1 percent.

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

Among tech stocks, Xero is up almost 1 percent, Zip is gaining almost 4 percent, Afterpay owner Block is adding almost 5 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent and Appen is advancing more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are higher, Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 5 percent, Evolution Mining is adding more than 2 percent, Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.2 percent, Resolute Mining is rising almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is advancing more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while ANZ Banking is adding more than 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.683 on Monday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Monday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 28,500 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets on Friday, with gains across most sectors, led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 28,528.90, up 314.15 or 1.11 percent, after touching a high of 28,612.89 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Friday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining almost 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is flat.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are adding almost 2 percent each. In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly strong, with Panasonic gaining almost 2 percent, Canon adding almost 1 percent and Sony edging up 0.4 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, M3 and Nissan Motor are gaining more than 3 percent each, while Odakyu Electric Railway, Nippon Sheet Glass, J. Front Retailing, Mitsubishi Motors, Trend Micro and Rakuten are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 142 yen-range on Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 1.8 percent and Singapore is adding 0.3 percent, while New Zealand, Indonesia and Malaysia are edging up 0.1 percent each. Hong Kong is closed for Mid-Autum Festival, China is closed for Moon Festival and South Korea is closed for Chuseok Festival.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading session on Friday, extending the notable rebound seen on Wednesday and Thursday. With the continued upward move, the major averages snapped a three-week losing streak.

The major averages pulled back off their highs of the session going into the close but held on to strong gains. The Dow jumped 377.19 points or 1.2 percent to 32,151.71, the Nasdaq surged 250.18 points or 2.1 percent to 12,112.31 and the S&P 500 shot up 61.18 points or 1.5 percent to 4,067.36.

The major European markets also showed strong moves to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both surged by 1.4 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, with traders covering short positions and indulging in some bargain hunting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended higher by $3.25 or about 3.9 percent at $86.79 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained about 2 percent on Thursday, after having tumbled to near 8-month low a session earlier.

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