Asian Markets Track Wall Street Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets trade mostly higher on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by gains in technology stocks which mirrored their peers on tech-heavy Nasdaq amid strong rebound by Bitcoin after it moved sharply lower on Monday. Traders also remain optimistic about an interest rate cut by the US Fed next week. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Traders now look ahead to the release of payroll processor ADP's report on US private sector employment later in the day, which could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.

Reports on US service sector activity, personal income and spending and consumer sentiment may also attract attention in the coming days.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.4 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by another quarter point, up from 63.0 percent a month ago.

Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying just below the 8,600 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in financial and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in gold mining stocks. Technology and iron ore miner stocks were mixed.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 11.70 points or 0.14 percent to 8,591.40, after touching a high of 8,622.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11.30 points or 0.13 percent to 8,888.80. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.2 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent, while Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent. Fortescue is flat.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is adding more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is edging up 0.2 percent and Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Appen is gaining more than 2 percent, Zip is advancing almost 3 percent and WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent, while Afterpay owner Block is tumbling more than 6 percent and Xero is edging down 0.2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia bank are edging up 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining more than 1 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding almost 1 percent. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.4 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 2 percent and Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent, while Newmont and Genesis Minerals are down almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Predictive Discovery are skyrocketing more than 16 percent after Perseus Mining tabled an unsolicited takeover bid that values the gold miner higher than its planned merger with Robex Resources.

In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on quarter in the third quarter of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous three months following an upward revision from 0.6 percent.

On a yearly basis, GDP was up 2.1 percent - again missing expectations for 2.2 percent but still up from the upwardly revised 2.0 percent increase in the three months prior (originally 1.8 percent). GDP per capita was flat this quarter but increased 0.4 percent since September 2024.

Meanwhile, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI core of 52.8. That's up from 52.5 in October and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.657 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading significantly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 49,850 level, with strong gains in technology stocks partially offset by weakness in automakers and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,862.94, up 559.49 points or 1.13 percent, after touching a high of 49,874.58 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.4 percent and Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 5 percent, Screen Holdings is surging more than 6 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 4 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is declining more than 2 percent, Mizuho Financial is down more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 1 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 3 percent, while Sony is down almost 1 percent. Canon is flat.

Among other major gainers, Nippon Electric Glass is soaring almost 8 percent, while Renesas Electronics, Mitsui Kinzoku and Ibiden are surging more than 5 percent each. Lasertec is jumping more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Ebara are gaining almost 4 percent each. Sumitomo Electric Industries, Credit Saison, Fuji Electric and Socionext are advancing more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nitori Holdings is declining more than 4 percent, while Aeon and Daiichi Sankyo are losing almost 4 percent each. Osaka Gas and Toppan Holdings are down almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia continued to expand in November, and at a slightly faster rate, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI core of 53.2. That's up from 53.1 in October and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index climbed to 52.0 in November from 51.5 in October.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 1.3 percent, while New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each.

On the Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after an early move to the upside but largely maintained a positive bias. The major averages all ended the day in positive territory, regaining ground following the pullback seen during Monday's trading.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 137.75 points or 0.6 percent to 23,413.67, the Dow climbed 185.13 points or 0.4 percent to 47,474.46 and the S&P 500 rose 16.74 points or 0.3 percent to 6,829.37.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the session. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed marginally lower and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices gave ground on Tuesday as efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict have sent positive signals of a ceasefire sooner than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $0.55 or 0.93 percent at $58.77 per barrel.