Australia: Asian Markets In Positive Territory

Asian stock markets are in positive territory on Wednesday, following the overnight gains on Wall Street amid upbeat corporate earnings results and on optimism as U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to unveil a tax plan later in the day.

The Australian market, which was closed on Tuesday for the Anzac Day holiday, is rising following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 45.90 points or 0.78 % to 5,917.70, off a high of 5,923.90 before. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 41.50 points or 0.70 % to 5,942.20.

In the mining space, BHP Billiton is rising 1 %, Rio Tinto is adding additional than 1 % and Fortescue Metals is edging up less than 0.1 % despite flat iron ore prices.

BHP Billiton reported a 3 % increase in iron ore production and a 20 % decline in copper production for the nine-month period. The company as well cut its full-year copper production outlook.

In the banking sector, ANZ Banking, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are advancing in a range of 0.8 % to 1.2 %.

Oil stocks are as well higher next crude oil prices rose overnight. Oil Search is rising almost 1 %, Santos is adding 0.5 % and Woodside Petroleum is up additional than 1 %.

Bucking the trend, gold miner Newcrest Mining is losing additional than 3 % and Evolution Mining is falling additional than 6 % next gold prices fell overnight as risk appetite improved.

A2 Milk Co. estimate a 49 % increase in full-year revenue due to better than expected infant formula sales in the third quarter. The company's shares are rising additional than 5 %.

Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure said that chief executive Deborah Thomas will step down on July 1 and will be restored by former Nine Entertainment chief operating officer Simon Kelly. The company's shares are rising 1 %.

On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that consumer prices in Australia were up 0.5 % on quarter in the initial quarter of 2017. That was unchanged from the previous three months, although it was shy of forecasts for 0.6 %.

In the currency market, the Australian dollar is lower against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7534, down from US$0.7569 on Tuesday.

The Japanese market is advancing for a fourth straight day, tracking the positive cues from Wall Street and a weaker yen.

In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 134.43 points or 0.70 % to 19,213.76, off a high of 19,234.87 before.

The major exporters are higher as the yen weakened against the U.S. dollar. Panasonic is gaining almost 5 %, Toshiba is rising additional than 4 %, Canon is up almost 1 % and Sony is adding 0.2 %.

The Nikkei business daily reported that Toshiba will replace its auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata following a dispute with the auditor over a probe into the company's U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric.

Automaker Toyota is advancing almost 2 % and Honda is rising additional than 1 %. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising almost 2 % and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding additional than 1 %.

In the oil space, Inpex is rising almost 2 % and JXTG Holdings is gaining almost 3 % following the increase in crude oil prices.

Japan Post Holdings has estimated a net loss of about 40 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March next announcing a $3.6 billion writedown on its Australian logistics arm Toll Holdings. Shares of Japan Post are adding 0.3 %.

Part the other major gainers, Showa Denko is rising additional than 7 %, IHI Corp. is gaining additional than 6 % and Hitachi Construction Machinery is higher by almost 5 %. On the flip side, FamilyMart UNY Holdings is losing additional than 3 %.

In economic news, Japan will see February results for its all industry activity index, plus April numbers for small business confidence today.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 111 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, Shanghai, Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are as well higher.

On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Tuesday as buying interest was generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from a number of well-known companies, inclunding DuPont, Caterpillar and McDonald's.

The Dow jumped 232.23 points or 1.1 % to 20,996.12, the Nasdaq climbed 41.67 points or 0.7 % to 6,025.49 and the S&P 500 rose 14.46 points or 0.6 % to 2,388.61.

The major European markets as well moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 %, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both rose by 0.2 %.

Crude oil futures nudged higher Tuesday, ahead of crucial U.S. inventories data over the next two days. June WTI oil gained $0.33 or 0.7 % to settle at $49.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.