Asian markets traded higher on Wednesday following overnight rally in US stocks amid better than expected quarterly results from Wall Street.
In the US, strong results from banks helped Dow Jones register its seventh-straight session of gains, its longest streak since March 2021. The index closed at its highest level since April. 2022
Data showed retail sales rose less than expected in June on a fall in building materials and service station receipts.
In Asia, according to the Reuters Tankan survey, which measures confidence among large Japanese companies, business sentiment among manufacturers in Japan declined for the first time in six months in July.
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Asian Markets
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1% and the Topix rose 0.94%. South Korea’s Kospi inched up marginally and the Kosdaq added 0.31%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were trading over 100 points lower at 18,898.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.58% ahead of the release of unemployment figures on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gift Nifty was trading marginally higher at 19,808 as against Nifty’s previous close of 19,749.25, indicating a positive start for the Indian benchmark index.
Wall Street
US stocks ended higher led by gains in technology and banking shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 366.38 points, or 1.06%, to 34,951.30, while the S&P 500 gained 32.37 points, or 0.72%, to end at 4,555.16 points. The Nasdaq Composite closed 108.69 points, or 0.76%, higher at 14,353.64.
Among stocks, Morgan Stanley shares surged 6.45%, Bank of America rallied 4.42%, Bank of New York Mellon gained 4.11% and PNC Financial rose 2.51% reporting their quarterly results.
Microsoft shares hit a record high after announcing it would charge more to access new artificial intelligence features in its Office software. The stock closed 3.98% higher at $359.49.
Charles Schwab was the top performer on the S&P 500 as the shares jumped 12.57% after it posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly profit.
Europe
European shares rose, with the pan-European STOXX 600 ending 0.6% higher.
Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.6% at 7,453.69, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.4% to 7,319.18. Germany’s DAX added 0.4% at 16,125.49.
Novartis shares jumped 4.6% after it raised its full-year earnings guidance.
Ocado shares surged 19% to top the STOXX 600 after the British supermarket chain returned to underlying profit in its first half.
Energy
Crude oil prices traded flat
Brent crude gained 0.14% to $79.74 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was flat at $75.75 a barrel.
(With inputs from Reuters)