CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are higher on Thursday, with the dovish comments from the
U.S.
Federal Reserve and higher crude oil prices overnight lifting investor sentiment.
Overnight, the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged in a range from 0.25 to 0.50 percent amid lingering concerns about the health of the global economy. The Fed now see only two interest rate hikes instead of four this year.
The Australian market advanced, following the overnight gains on Wall Street after the
U.S.
Federal Reserve's dovish comments on future interest rate hikes. In addition, higher oil and gold prices lifted resources stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 63.40 points or 1.24 percent to 5,182.40. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 62.50 points or 1.21 percent to 5,238.20.
The big four banks - Westpac Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking - are higher in a range of 1.1 percent to 2.1 percent.
In the oil space, Oil Search is rising almost 4 percent, Santos is gaining almost 5 percent and Woodside Petroleum is advancing more than 2 percent following the rally in crude oil prices overnight.
Among the big miners, BHP Billiton is gaining almost 4 percent, Rio Tinto is up more than 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is up more than 7 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is advancing almost 6 percent and Evolution Mining is higher by almost 7 percent after gold prices spiked higher overnight.
Department store chain Myer Holdings has tightened its full-year profit forecast after its sales for the first half of the year rose 1.8 percent even as profit declined 4 percent. Shares of the company are higher by more than 12 percent.
Oroton Group's shares are rising more than 27 percent after the luxury retail brand reported a 72.5 percent increase in its profit for the first half of the year.
Fairfax Media plans to cut 120 editorial jobs from its newsrooms in
Sydney
and
Melbourne
. The company's shares are gaining almost 4 percent.
Telstra Corp. will raise 15 billion euros through a debt issue in
Singapore
. The telecom giant's shares are down 0.6 percent.
SurfStitch Group has named Lex Pedersen and Justin Stone as its joint chief executives with immediate effect, following the sudden departure of Justin Cameron last week. The company's shares are adding 0.4 percent.
Logistics firm Qube Holdings has raised A$250 million through a right share placement to institutional investors, as part of its fund raising related to the acquisition of rail and ports operator Asciano. The company's shares are up almost 2 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate in
Australia
fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.8 percent in February. That beat forecasts for 6.0 percent, which would have been unchanged from the January reading.
The Australian economy added 300 jobs in February - well shy of forecast for an increase of 12,000 following the 7,500 decline in the previous month. The participation rate was 64.9 percent - also below forecasts for 65.2 percent, which would have been unchanged.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is sharply higher against the
U.S.
dollar on Thursday after the
Federal Reserve's dovish comments. In early trades, the local unit was trading at
US$0.7560, up from
US$0.7489 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is notably higher, with the dovish tone of the
U.S.
Federal Reserve boosting investor sentiment. Following its two-day policy meeting, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and also indicated that it is no hurry to raise interest rates.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 229.63 points or 1.35 percent to 17,204.08, off high of 17,253.03 earlier.
The major exporters are higher despite a stronger yen and data showing that
Japan's
exports fell for a fifth straight month.
Sony is rising more than 3 percent, Sharp is up more than 2 percent and
Toshiba is advancing more than 3 percent, while
Canon is declining less than 1 percent.
Automaker Toyota is up more than 1 percent and Honda is gaining more than 2 percent. In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising more than 2 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is higher by more than 4 percent and refiner JX Holdings is adding almost 2 percent following the spike in crude oil prices overnight.
Office furniture maker Okamura Corp. is rising more than 5 percent after it raised its full-year operating forecast.
Among the other major gainers, Advantest Corp. is gaining almost 5 percent and Kobe Steel is rising almost 4 percent. Meanwhile, Toho Railway is losing almost 2 percent and Asahi Group is down more than 1 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Finance said that
Japan
posted a merchandise trade surplus of
242.77 billion yen in February. That missed forecasts for a surplus of
395.1 billion yen following the
648.8 billion yen deficit in January.
Exports were down 4.0 percent on year in February, shy of estimates for a decline of 3.0 percent following the 12.9 percent decline in the previous month. Imports fell an annual 14.2 percent versus forecasts for 15.8 percent following the 17.8 percent contraction a month earlier.
In the currency market, the
U.S.
dollar traded in the upper
112 yen-level on Thursday, down from Wednesday's close in the upper
113 yen-range in
Tokyo
.
Elsewhere in
Asia
,
South Korea
,
Hong Kong
and
Singapore
are up more than 1 percent each, while
Taiwan
,
Indonesia
,
Malaysia
and
New Zealand
are also higher. Bucking the trend,
Shanghai
is marginally lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its widely-expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a range from 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent. The Fed's revised forecast for interest rates showed that officials expect rates to be lower at the end of the year than predicted in December.
The Dow rose 74.23 points or 0.4 percent to 17,325.76, the Nasdaq advanced 35.30 points or 0.8 percent to 4,763.97 and the S&P 500 climbed 11.29 points of 0.6 percent to 2,027.22.
The major European markets ended Wednesday mixed ahead of the Fed announcement. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the
U.K.'s
FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures rallied Wednesday as the Federal Reserve's dovish interest rate statement weakened the
U.S.
dollar. WTI oil for April delivery rose
$2.12 or 5.8 percent to end at
$38.46 a barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
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