Asian stock markets experienced a robust surge on Thursday, buoyed by the positive trajectory of global markets, as traders responded favorably to a closely monitored report on U.S. consumer price inflation. The report indicated a milder-than-anticipated rise in April, further cementing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve might commence interest rate cuts by September. Despite mixed closures on Wednesday, Thursday's trading session saw Asian markets predominantly in the green.
In Australia, the market displayed strong performance, extending gains from the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 surged past the 7,800 mark, driven by widespread sectoral gains, notably in gold mining and technology stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 128.80 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 7,882.50, after peaking at 7,891.50. Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries Index rose by 127.60 points, or 1.59%, to achieve 8,148.50. Australian stocks had already closed significantly higher on Wednesday.
In the mining sector, shares of Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals saw gains of nearly 1% each, while BHP Group appreciated by over 1%. Conversely, Mineral Resources dipped slightly by 0.2%.
Oil stocks displayed mixed performance: Woodside Energy and Santos edged down between 0.1% and 0.3%, while Beach Energy dropped by nearly 1%. In contrast, Origin Energy edged up by 0.5%.
The tech sector witnessed notable advances: Xero soared by more than 4%, Appen rose by over 2%, and WiseTech Global along with Zip gained almost 2% each. Afterpay owner Block remained flat.
Australia's major banks—Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ Banking, and National Australia Bank—all posted gains exceeding 1% each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining rose nearly 3%, Resolute Mining surged almost 7%, Gold Road Resources advanced over 4%, while Newmont and Northern Star Resources saw increases of more than 1% and 3%, respectively.
On another note, Aristocrat Leisure shares skyrocketed by 9% following an impressive earnings report and a 20% dividend hike.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar traded at $0.669 on Thursday. Similarly, the Japanese market saw significant gains, buoyed by encouraging global cues. The Nikkei 225 approached the 38,900 level, boosted by heavyweights and tech stocks.
The Nikkei 225 Index concluded the morning session at 38,669.57, up 283.84 points or 0.74%, after hitting a high of 38,897.53. Japanese shares had also ended slightly higher on Wednesday.
In Japan, heavyweight SoftBank Group gained over 1%, and Fast Retailing edged up 0.4%. However, automakers Toyota and Honda declined by more than 2% and almost 3%, respectively.
In the tech sector, Advantest rose by more than 3%, Tokyo Electron added almost 4%, and Screen Holdings advanced over 1%.
Within the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial gained nearly 1%, whereas Mizuho Financial declined by over 2%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial dropped by more than 5%.
Major exporters displayed mixed outcomes: Canon lost nearly 1%, Panasonic fell by more than 1%, while Mitsubishi Electric and Sony gained almost 1% each.
Other significant gainers included Recruit Holdings with a surge of over 6%, Credit Saison with nearly 6%, and Ebara with more than 4%. Isetan Mitsukoshi, Keyence, and CyberAgent each rose by over 3%, while Terumo, Disco, and Fujikura gained nearly 3% each.
Conversely, Nisshin Seifun and Nippon Paper Industries plunged by over 9% each, while Sumitomo Chemical slid nearly 8%. Sumitomo Pharma declined over 6%, and T&D Holdings dropped by almost 6%. Konica Minolta and Mercari fell by more than 4% each, while Mazda Motor, Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Motors, NTN, and NEXON each declined nearly 4%. Isuzu Motors and NSK saw losses of over 3% each.
Economic news from Japan reported a seasonally adjusted GDP contraction of 0.5% for Q1 2024, missing expectations of a 0.3% decline, following a 0.2% increase in the previous quarter. Annually, GDP fell by 2.0%, also missing estimates of a 1.5% decline after a 0.4% rise in the prior three months.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the higher 153 yen range on Thursday.
Other Asian markets such as New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia saw gains ranging from 0.3% to 1.2%.On Wall Street, stocks experienced significant gains during Wednesday's trading, driven by positive reactions to highly-anticipated consumer price inflation data. The major indices built on Tuesday's gains, reaching new record closing highs.
Late in the session, the major indices saw additional upward momentum, achieving new intra-day highs. The tech-dominated Nasdaq soared by 231.21 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,742.39. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 climbed 61.47 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,308.15, and the Dow rose by 349.89 points, or 0.9 percent, to 39,908.00.
The major European markets also experienced gains. The German DAX Index increased by 0.8 percent, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index and France's CAC 40 Index both inched up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices advanced on Wednesday, supported by subdued inflation data and a report indicating a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June concluded the session up by $0.61, or 0.78 percent, at $78.63 per barrel.