Asian stock markets are higher on Friday, tracking the overnight surge in crude oil prices and the gains on Wall Street after minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting reinforced the view that the central bank may delay its first interest rate hike into next year.
While the members agreed the economic outlook had not been materially altered, the Fed said it was prudent to wait for additional information before raising rates.
The Australian market advanced for a fifth straight session, buoyed by the overnight gains on Wall Street and the surge in crude oil prices.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is adding 46.00 points or 0.88 percent to 5,256.40, off a high of 5,284.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is advancing 45.20 points or 0.86 percent to 5,286.60.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (BHP) is advancing 2 percent, while Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue Metals are rising almost 3 percent each after iron ore prices rose for a second consecutive session overnight.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is adding more than 1 percent and Kingsgate Consolidated is up 0.3 percent, even as gold futures eased following the Federal Reserve minutes.
In the oil space, Santos is rising more than 5 percent, Oil Search is up 0.5 percent and Woodside Petroleum is adding more than 1 percent after crude oil prices surged higher overnight.
Caltex Australia chairman Elizabeth Bryan will step down in December and be replaced by her deputy Greig Gailey. Shares of the oil refining and retail company are declining 0.2 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac (WBK) and National Australia Bank are higher in a range of 0.4 percent to 1.2 percent. Commonwealth Bank is down 0.3 percent.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Telstra should cut the price it charges other telcos to access its copper wire network by 9.4 percent from November 1.Shares of Telstra are down 0.2 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total number of home loans issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent on month in August, coming in at 54,546. That missed forecasts for an increase of 4.7 percent following the downwardly revised 0.3 percent decline in July.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is firmer against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after the greenback sagged following the release of the Federal Reserve minutes. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7260, up from Thursday's close of US$0.7177.
The Japanese market is rising, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, as investor sentiment was bolstered by the gains on Wall Street and European markets overnight. Additionally, a weaker yen boosted exporters' stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 120.68 points or 0.67 percent to 18,261.85. Iron and steel, oil, and non-ferrous metal stocks are among the leading gainers.
Among the major exporters, Sony (SNE) is edging up 0.06 percent, Toshiba is gaining more than 4 percent, Panasonic is rising more than 2 percent and Canon is up more almost 2 percent.
Market heavyweight Fast Retailing, the maker of the Uniqlo clothing brand, is declining more than 9 percent after its full-year profit and outlook both missed analysts' estimates. SoftBank is gaining more than 2 percent.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is edging up 0.01 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) is adding 0.5 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.4 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota (TM) is advancing more than 1 percent and Honda (HMC) is rising more than 2 percent.
Inpex is advancing 2.5 percent and JX Holdings is rising more than 3 percent after crude oil prices gained overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Toho Zinc is gaining more than 7 percent, Takara Holdings is up more than 6 percent and Trend Micro is rising 6 percent. Meanwhile, Casio Computer is down 2 percent and Marui Group is declining 1.6 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded around the 120-yen range on Friday, up from Thursday's close in the upper 119-yen range in Tokyo.
Elsewhere in the Asian region, Indonesia is rising more than 2 percent, while Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are adding more than 1 percent each. Shanghai and New Zealand are up with modest gains.
The markets in South Korea and Taiwan are closed on Friday in observance of Hangeul Day and National Day, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Thursday in reaction to the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting.
The Dow climbed 138.46 points or 0.8 percent to 17,050.75, the Nasdaq rose 19.64 points or 0.4 percent to 4,810.79 and the S&P 500 advanced 17.60 points or 0.9 percent to 2,013.43.
The major European markets also moved higher on Thursday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both edged up by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices surged back toward $50 a barrel Thursday on upbeat demand growth outlook. Crude for November delivery jumped $1.62 or 3.4 percent to $49.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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