Asian Markets Mostly Higher
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous sessions following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street amid easing concerns about the retail trading frenzy. Upbeat corporate earnings results and optimism about more U.S. fiscal stimulus also lifted the markets.
The Australian market is advancing for a third straight day.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 63.90 points or 0.94 percent to 6,826.50, after touching a high of 6,830.00. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 62.80 points or 0.89 percent to 7,090.30. Australian stocks closed notably higher on Tuesday.
In the banking sector, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are rising in a range of 1.7 percent to 2.5 percent after the Reserve Bank of Australia said Tuesday it does not expect to raise interest rates until 2024.
Japanese Market Extends Gains
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese stock market is higher on Wednesday for the third straight day following the overnight gains on Wall Street amid easing concerns about the retail trading frenzy, upbeat corporate earnings results, and optimism about more U.S. fiscal stimulus.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 241.10 points or 0.85 percent to 28,603.27, after touching a high of 28,669.95 earlier. Japanese shares extended gains on Tuesday from the previous session.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is advancing more than 1 percent and Fast Retailing is adding almost 1 percent. In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.1 percent.