CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Tuesday despite the negative lead overnight from Wall Street and weaker than expected manufacturing data from
China
.
Higher crude oil and commodity prices overnight boosted resources stocks, while news that
China
unexpectedly cut the reserve-requirement ratio for all banks on Monday also lifted investor sentiment. However, gains are muted in most markets.
The latest survey from Caixin revealed that the manufacturing sector in
China
remained in contraction in February, and at an accelerated rate, with a PMI score of 48.0. That missed forecasts for a score of 48.4, which would have been unchanged from the previous month. It also moved further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The Australian market climbed into positive territory, after opening lower following the weak lead overnight from Wall Street. Higher crude oil and commodity prices lifted investor sentiment.
Nevertheless, investors are awaiting the outcome of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting later in the day. The RBA is widely expected to keep its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 2.00 percent.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 38.00 points or 0.78 percent to 4,918.90, after declining to 4,868.10 in early trades. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 37.10 points or 0.75 percent to 4,985.00.
In the mining sector, Rio Tinto is rising almost 3 percent each and Fortescue Metals is higher by almost 4 percent.
BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie said the company is close to reaching a settlement with Brazilian authorities over the Samarco dam disaster. Shares of the company are gaining more than 2 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is advancing more than 4 percent and Evolution Mining is adding more than 2 percent after gold prices rose one percent overnight.
Among oil stocks, Oil Search is up almost 2 percent, Santos is gaining almost 3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is higher by more than 2 percent following the surge in crude oil prices overnight.
In the banking space, Westpac Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are higher in a range of 0.2 percent to 1.2 percent.
In economic news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that
Australia
had a current account deficit of
A$21.11 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015. That was shy of forecasts for a shortfall of
A$20.0 billion following the
A$18.8 billion deficit in the third quarter.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total number of building approvals in
Australia
issued in January was down a seasonally adjusted 7.5 percent in January, standing at 17,446. That missed forecasts for a decline of 3.0 percent following the 9.2 percent increase in December.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is slightly lower against the
U.S.
dollar as markets await the outcome of the
Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting. In early trades, the local unit was trading at
US$0.7137, down from
US$0.7138 on Friday.
The Japanese market slipped into negative territory after opening higher, as the overnight losses on Wall Street and a stronger safe-haven yen dented investor sentiment. Investors also digested mixed local economic data.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 148.33 points or 0.93 percent to 15,878.43, off a low of 15,935.88 earlier.
The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic is down 0.3 percent, Sony is losing more than 2 percent and Toshiba is losing 0.4 percent, while Canon is adding 0.4 percent. Troubled electronics maker Sharp Corp. is lower by more than 2 percent.
Automaker Toyota is declining 0.8 percent. In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is down 0.2 percent.
Among oil stocks, Inpex is adding 0.6 percent and refiner JX Holdings is up 0.2 percent.
The Nikkei business daily reported that trading house Marubeni Corp. may help build
Egypt's
largest power plant for more than
400 billion yen. However, shares of
Marubeni are declining 1 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the unemployment rate in
Japan
came in at a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent in January. That was beneath expectations for 3.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the December reading.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also said that the average of household spending in
Japan
skidded 3.1 percent on year in January, standing at
280,973 yen. The headline figure missed forecasts for a decline of 2.7 percent following the 4.4 percent contraction in December.
The Ministry of Finance said that capital spending in
Japan
was down 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015. That missed forecasts for 8.7 percent and was down from 11.2 percent in the third quarter.
In the currency market, the
U.S.
dollar traded in the lower
112 yen-level on Tuesday, down from Monday's close in the upper
112 yen range in
Tokyo
.
Elsewhere in
Asia
,
Shanghai
is adding 0.6 percent and
Hong Kong
is higher by 0.7 percent.
Indonesia
,
Malaysia
,
New Zealand
and
Taiwan
are up with modest gains. Meanwhile,
Singapore
is marginally lower.
On Wall Street, stocks fell on Monday as downbeat economic news renewed fears of a
U.S.
economic slowdown.
The S&P 500 closed 15.83 points or 0.8 percent lower at 1,932.22, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 123.47 points or 0.7 percent to 16,516.50 and the Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 32.52 points or 0.7 percent at 4,557.95.
The European markets closed mostly higher on Monday after
China's
central bank lowered the amount of cash that banks should keep in reserve in a bid to support slowing economic growth amid a weakening currency and tumbling stock markets.
The DAX of
Germany
dropped 0.19 percent, but the CAC 40 of
France
rose 0.90 percent and the
FTSE 100 of the
U.K.
gained 0.02 percent.
Crude oil prices rallied on Monday after
Saudi Arabia
said it would work with other oil producers to limit oil market volatility. WTI oil settled up
$0.97 or 2.96 percent for the day, rising to
$33.75 a barrel on the
New York Mercantile Exchange.
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