FX.co ★ Asian Markets Track Global Markets Higher

Asian stock markets are largely performing well, reflecting positive trends from global markets last Friday. The optimism was fueled by reassuring US inflation statistics and a drop in treasury yields, which eased any potential worries about the inflation data. However, traders are still treading cautiously, taking advantage of potential bargains ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement due in two days. The majority of Asian markets concluded with gains last Friday.

The Australian stock market, in particular, is faring well, compensating for losses incurred during the last two sessions. Riding the wave of positive global cues from last Friday, the S&P/ASX 200, which is a key benchmark, has surged past the 7,600 mark, with technology and finance stocks contributing the most to the gains.

As fluctuation prevails in the mining sector, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals stocks have dropped marginally by 0.5 percent, while Mineral Resources have seen an approximate increase of 1 percent. Rio Tinto stock value has also risen by around 0.5 percent.

In the oil sector, stocks are primarily improving. Origin Energy and Woodside Energy have seen slight increments between 0.2 to 0.4 percent, while Beach Energy has gained roughly 1 percent. Santos, however, has fallen slightly by 0.4 percent.

As for the gold mining sector, it sees a mixed bag. Resolute Mining has climbed nearly 2 percent, Evolution Mining has ascended by roughly 1 percent and Northern Star Resources has seen a slight rise of 0.3 percent. Conversely, Gold Road Resources has dropped by 1.5 percent and Newmont has slipped by almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank have managed gains of about 1 percent each. Westpac and ANZ Banking have slightly increased between 0.3 to 0.5 percent.

A notable downturn was observed with Megaport shares dropping more than 5 percent. Despite upgrading its EBITDA guidance for financial year 2024, the IT company was unable to meet analysts' expectations about recurring revenue and quarterly KPIs. In contrast, shares in Boss Energy skyrocketed by over 6 percent, boosted by its first quarterly report since commencing uranium production at its Honeymoon project in South Australia.

The Australian dollar is currently trading at $0.656. The Japanese stock market remains shut due to Showa Day.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong and Taiwan are up by 1.6 percent each, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia have also posted gains between 0.2 and 0.8 percent. Singapore is the odd one out, with a slight decrease of 0.1 percent.

Reflecting on Wall Street's performance, stocks experienced a significant upturn last Friday. This rebound managed to nullify some of the losses experienced during Thursday's session. The tech-dominated Nasdaq led the charge, resulting in a surge for all major averages. The Nasdaq increased by 2.0 percent to 15,927.90, followed by the S&P 500 (1.0 percent) and the Dow (0.4 percent).

European markets also ended up in the green. The German DAX Index marked a robust rise of 1.4 percent, followed by the French CAC 40 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100, which increased by 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices also rose slightly last Friday, driven by a hopeful outlook for oil demand and potential supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $0.28 or 0.34 percent at $83.85 a barrel, marking a 0.85 percent increase over the week.