FX.co ★ Asian Markets Track Global Markets Higher

Asian stock markets are predominantly trading higher on Thursday, buoyed by broadly positive signals from global markets overnight. This upswing reflects optimism spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, which left interest rates unchanged but suggested potential rate cuts in the future. Highlighting this sentiment, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated during his post-meeting press conference that a rate cut in September remains a strong possibility, contingent upon continued economic conditions.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool signifies a 93.5 percent probability that the Fed will reduce rates by a quarter point at its next policy meeting on September 17-18, aligning with investors' expectations.

Australian stock markets exhibit notable gains on Thursday, building on the upward trend from the previous session. The S&P/ASX 200 index has surpassed the 8,100 level to hit new all-time highs, driven by increases across most sectors, particularly materials, energy, and technology stocks amid rising commodity prices. However, financial stocks demonstrate weakness.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index is up by 34.30 points or 0.42 percent to 8,126.60 after earlier reaching a record high of 8,148.70. The broader All Ordinaries Index is also higher by 34.00 points or 0.41 percent to 8,354.40. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

Major miners such as Rio Tinto, Mineral Resources, and Fortescue Metals are each gaining more than 1 percent, with BHP Group adding almost 1 percent. In the oil sector, Woodside Energy is up over 1 percent, Origin Energy edges up by 0.2 percent, Beach Energy adds 1.5 percent, and Santos advances nearly 1 percent.

In technology, Block (owner of Afterpay), and WiseTech Global both show gains exceeding 1 percent, while Xero rises more than 2 percent, Appen surges over 6 percent, and Zip advances over 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac are each down by 0.3 to 0.5 percent, while ANZ Banking falls nearly 1 percent.

Gold miners such as Evolution Mining, Gold Road Resources, and Northern Star Resources are each up nearly 2 percent, while Newmont adds over 2 percent and Resolute Mining advances almost 3 percent.

In other news, Namoi Cotton shares are soaring nearly 6 percent following Australia's competition watchdog's stance to not oppose Louis Dreyfus' proposed acquisition of Namoi Cotton despite concerns over reduced competition in Western Australia and the Northern Territory’s cotton ginning services market.

DroneShield shares are plunging more than 15 percent post a $120 million capital raise, while Pacific Smiles shares are surging over 7 percent after accepting a $2.05 per share bid for the company.

Economically, Australia's manufacturing sector continued its contraction in July, albeit at a slower pace, as revealed by Judo Bank's latest survey. The manufacturing PMI rose to 47.5 from June's 47.2, though it remains below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.653 on Thursday.

Conversely, Japan's stock market is significantly lower on Thursday, reversing gains from the previous three sessions. The Nikkei 225 is down sharply by 2.5 percent to under the 38,100 level, reflecting weakness across all sectors following the Bank of Japan's decision to hike short-term policy rates and outline plans to reduce monthly bond buying.

The Nikkei 225 Index fell by 1,007.58 points or 2.58 percent to 38,094.24 after hitting an earlier low of 37,737.88. Japanese shares had ended significantly higher on Wednesday.

SoftBank Group shares tumbled more than 6 percent and Fast Retailing, Uniqlo's operator, lost nearly 4 percent. In the automotive sector, Toyota plunged almost 7 percent and Honda declined almost 5 percent.

In technology, Tokyo Electron fell nearly 2 percent and Screen Holdings slipped over 8 percent, while Advantest surged over 14 percent after raising its full-year profit outlook due to strong demand for chip testers.In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down over 1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is slipping more than 2 percent, and Mizuho Financial is falling nearly 1 percent.

Among major exporters, Canon has dropped over 7 percent, Mitsubishi Electric has plunged almost 12 percent, Sony is down nearly 4 percent, and Panasonic has slid more than 8 percent.

Other significant decliners include Konica Minolta, plummeting almost 15 percent, while Yamaha and Mitsubishi Electric are both down more than 12 percent. Isetan Mitsukoshi is sliding nearly 12 percent, with Sumitomo Realty & Development, Toyota Tsusho, and Takashimaya each declining over 10 percent. J. Front Retailing, Mitsubishi Estate, Mitsui Fudosan, and Tokyu Fudosan are all slipping over 9 percent, and Alps Alpine, Denso, and Subaru are each down almost 9 percent.

Conversely, Sumitomo Pharma is surging over 11 percent, Toto has risen more than 6 percent, Socionext is up almost 6 percent, and Hitachi has gained over 4 percent. Resona Holdings and Nisshin Seifun Group are advancing more than 3 percent each, while CyberAgent is up nearly 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 149-yen range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan has risen 1.2 percent, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, and Indonesia are each up between 0.2 and 0.7 percent. Singapore and Malaysia are down 0.8 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, with Hong Kong remaining relatively flat.

In the U.S., Wall Street saw strong performance throughout Wednesday, following a sharp rise early in the session. The major averages all moved upwards after ending Tuesday's session mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly strong gain.

The Nasdaq soared 451.98 points or 2.6 percent to close at 17,599.40, more than offsetting the 1.3 percent decline seen in the previous session. The S&P 500 also jumped 85.86 points or 1.6 percent to 5,522.30, while the Dow rose 99.46 points or 0.2 percent to 40,842.79.

In Europe, major markets also moved higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped 1.1 percent, France's CAC 40 Index advanced 0.8 percent, and Germany's DAX Index climbed 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday amid concerns over potential supply disruptions due to rising tensions in the Middle East and data showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $3.18 or 4.3 percent at $77.91 per barrel.