Asian stock markets are in positive territory on Thursday following the surge in crude oil prices overnight in reaction to reports that OPEC members have reached a deal to cut oil production for the first time since 2008.
The Australian market is advancing. In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 51.50 points or 0.95 percent to 5,463.90, off a high of 5,465.10. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 50.90 points or 0.93 percent to 5,551.10.
Among oil stocks, Oil Search is rising more than 5 percent, Santos is gaining almost 9 percent and Woodside Petroleum is higher by almost 6 percent following the surge in crude oil prices overnight.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton is rising almost 4 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining more than 2 percent and Fortescue Metals is up 3 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is adding 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing almost 2 percent.
The big four banks - ANZ Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia - are higher in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent.
Brambles said it has appointed Nessa O'Sullivan as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Zlatko Todorcevski, who is retiring. Shares of the pallet, crate and container provider are declining 0.6 percent.
Programmed Maintenance Services has lowered its earnings outlook for the full year. Shares of the labor hire and maintenance group are falling more than 18 percent.
On the economic front, Australia will see August figures for job vacancies today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is edging higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after OPEC producers agreed to cut oil production. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7693, up from US$0.7685 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is notably higher. In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is gaining 226.06 points or 1.37 percent to 16,691.46, off a high of 16,708.58 earlier.
In the oil sector, Inpex is rising more than 6 percent and JX Holdings is rising by more than 3 percent following the overnight surge in crude oil prices.
In the banking space, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up more than 1 percent.
However, the major exporters are mixed despite a weaker yen. Panasonic is adding more than 1 percent and and Canon is up almost 2 percent, while Sony is down 0.2 percent and Toshiba is declining more than 1 percent.
Automaker Toyota is adding 0.5 percent and Honda is gaining almost 2 percent. Fast Retailing is advancing almost 1 percent and SoftBank is rising more than 2 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Tokuyama Corp. is rising 14 percent after the chemical maker said it will sell its Malaysian unit to South Korea's OCI Co.
Tokyo Electric Power is gaining more than 7 percent and Chiyoda is up almost 6 percent. On the flip side, Nichirei Corp. is down more than 4 percent and Nippon Express Co. is losing more than 2 percent.
On the economic front, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that retail sales in Japan were down 1.1 percent on month in August. That missed forecasts for a decline of 0.8 percent following the upwardly revised 1.5 percent increase in July.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 101 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Shanghai, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan are all in positive territory.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Wednesday due to a sharp increase in the price of crude oil. Earlier in the day, traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make significant moves as they digested remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
The Dow climbed 110.94 points or 0.6 percent to 18,339.24, the Nasdaq edged up 12.84 points or 0.2 percent to 5,318.55 and the S&P 500 rose 11.44 points or 0.5 percent to 2,171.37.
The major European markets also moved back to the upside on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices spiked higher on Wednesday in reaction to a report from Reuters indicating that OPEC members have reached an agreement to cut oil output. WTI oil for November delivery surged up $2.38 or 5.3 percent to $47.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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