Asian stock markets are higher on Friday, extending gains from the previous session, after crude oil prices rallied and U.S. stocks extended their winning streak to five sessions overnight as investors largely shrugged off indications of rising inflation. However, trading in the region is subdued as many of the markets are shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.
The Australian market is rising, extending gains from the previous session, following the strong gains on Wall Street. In addition, upbeat local corporate earnings results boosted investor sentiment.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 18.40 points or 0.31 percent to 5,927.40, off a high of 5,938.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 17.80 points or 0.30 percent to 6,026.50. The Australian market posted its best session in seven months on Thursday.
The big four banks are among the leading gainers. ANZ Banking, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are advancing in a range of 0.3 percent to 1.2 percent.
Medibank Private reported a nearly 6 percent increase in half-year profit, while health insurance premium revenue rose less than 2 percent. The health insurer's shares are rising more than 2 percent.
Primary Health Care said its first-half profit rose almost 5 percent despite lower earnings at its medical centers. The medical center operator's shares are gaining almost 4 percent.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are edging lower by less than 0.1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is declining more than 1 percent.
Whitehaven Coal said its first-half profit surged 63 percent and revenues rose 39 percent on higher volumes and prices, but reaffirmed its lower full-year production guidance. The coal miner's shares are losing more than 4 percent.
Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are declining more than 3 percent each.
Oil stocks are also weak despite crude oil prices extending gains overnight. Santos is down almost 1 percent, Oil Search is lower by 0.3 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday. The local unit was quoted at US$0.7940, up from US$0.7937 on Thursday.
The Japanese market is advancing, tracking the overnight gains on Wall Street. Shares of exporters are higher despite a stronger yen.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 246.68 points or 1.15 percent to 21,711.66, off a high of 21,788.14 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Sony is advancing more than 2 percent, Panasonic is rising more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding 1 percent and Canon is up almost 1 percent. SoftBank is declining almost 1 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is rising 1 percent and Honda is advancing more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is declining almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is rising almost 1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is adding 1 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is up almost 1 percent after crude oil prices extended gains overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Trend Micro is gaining more than 11 percent, Tokai Carbon is rising more than 5 percent and Ricoh is up more than 4 percent.
On the flip side, Sapporo Holdings is declining more than 3 percent, while Ebara Corp. and Sumco Corp. are down more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 106 yen-range on Friday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand is also higher. Most of the regional stock markets are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year holidays, including South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.
On Wall Street, stocks extended their winning streak to five sessions on Thursday as traders largely shrugged off further indications of rising inflation even though the data could lead to faster interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The Dow surged up 306.88 points or 1.2 percent to 25,200.37, the Nasdaq spiked 112.81 points or 1.6 percent to 7,256.43 and the S&P 500 jumped 32.57 points or 1.2 percent to 2,731.20.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Thursday. While the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil prices extended gains on Thursday. WTI crude rose $0.74 or 1.2 percent to close at $61.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
by RTT Staff Writer
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