Asia report: Wall Street strength sees stocks bounce

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region mainly closed in positive territory on Tuesday, following a promising session on Wall Street overnight.

“Asian equity markets experienced positive performance, driven by modest gains on Wall Street,” said Patrick Munnelly at TickMill Group.

“Cyclicals benefited from promising inflation indicators ahead of the upcoming US CPI data, while market participants also considered China's support measures.

“The Nikkei 225 remained flat and struggled to maintain its early momentum due to a stronger currency. However, Sumco stood out as it outperformed other stocks following reports that the government would potentially provide the company with a subsidy of up to $530m to enhance wafer capacity. Nonetheless, Industry Minister Nishimura later denied these reports.”

In contrast, Munnelly noted that the Hang Seng index and the Shanghai Composite posted gains.

“This positive sentiment was primarily driven by developers who benefited from the news that China would extend two financial policies supporting the stable and healthy growth of the real estate market until the end of 2024.”

Stock indices higher in most parts of the region

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 closed slightly higher by 0.04% to end the day at 32,203.57.

Semiconductor company Sumco was a leading performer, with shares up 4.75%, followed by technology company Advantest, which climbed 4.26%.

Mitsubishi Motors also registered an encouraging gain, rising by 3.43%.

The broader Topix index, however, slipped 0.32%, closing at 2,236.40.

China's markets also ended the day on a positive note, as the Shanghai Composite increased by 0.55% to 3,221.37, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.78% to close at 11,028.68.

Fujian Rayne Tech and Guangdong Wencan both soared by the daily limit of 10.01% in Shanghai trading.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index enjoyed a robust session, closing 0.97% higher at 18,659.83.

Leading the gains were Galaxy Entertainment and Techtronic Industries, up 4.3% and 4.08%, respectively.

Travel agency Trip.com Group also performed well, seeing a rise of 3.74%.

South Korea's Kospi ended the trading day with a gain of 1.66% to 2,562.49.

Hanwha Aerospace surged 7.13%, and Hanwha Ocean also impressed with a gain of 6.78%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 surged 1.5% to 7,108.90, with Capricorn Metals leading the way, surging 8.13%.

Close behind was De Grey Mining, up 5.8%.

Contrastingly, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 slightly edged down by 0.03% to 11,909.81, as Pacific Edge and Serko both struggled, dropping 4.76% and 2.77% respectively.

On the currency front, the dollar depreciated against the yen by 0.53% to JPY 140.56, but it rose against the Aussie and the Kiwi by 0.29% and 0.51% respectively, trading at AUD 1.5024 and NZD 1.6186.

In the oil sector, Brent crude futures were last up 0.64% on ICE at $78.19 per barrel, while the NYMEX quote for West Texas Intermediate advanced 0.69% to $73.49.

China extends policies to support real estate, Australian consumer sentiment sees uptick

In economic news, China's real estate market received a boost as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) announced the extension of two key financial policies aimed at supporting the housing sector through to the end of 2024.

The initiative followed a 16-step guideline released last November, intended to reinforce policy backing for the housing market.

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment in Australia saw a moderate rise.

According to Westpac-Melbourne Institute data released on Tuesday, consumer sentiment in the country increased by 2.7% to reach an index score of 81.3, up from June’s reading of 79.2.

The reading took a hit in the first half of 2022, plunging by 17%, but had since remained within a range of 78 to 86.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.