Asian Market Review

Markets are rising early Thursday for a second consecutive day as investors remain hopeful for improvements in U.S.-China trade negotiations, as well as awaiting expected stimulus measures from the European Central Bank later today.

Japan is leading gains today in the region, with the Nikkei trading up by 0.9% as the Yen has weakened to above the 108.00 level versus the U.S. dollar. A weaker Yen is beneficial for Japanese exporters. Shares of Sony are trading higher by 1%, while Canon and Nikon are up by 0.8% and 0.5% respectively.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 has advanced 0.7% heading into afternoon trading. The big four banks are climbing higher today, with ANZ up by 0.9%, NAB gaining 0.6%, Commonwealth Bank trading 1% higher, and Westpac tacking on 0.9%. Miners are trading modestly higher today, but the oil sector is falling after overnight losses for crude.

Mainland China has also opened to gains today, and the Shanghai Composite has an early gain of 0.4%, while the smaller cap Shenzhen Composite is up a more modest 0.2%. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng has edged up by less than 0.1% as the threat of protests in the city remains.

South Korea’s Kospi is up by 0.8%, even though shares of index heavy weight Samsung are up by just 0.3%. In Taiwan the Taiex has gained 0.3% in early trade.

Southeast Asian markets are also trading higher and the KLCI in Malaysia has a gain of 0.3%, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore has a slight gain of less than 0.1%.