Asian stock markets are higher on Thursday, though gains are modest in most markets, following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street after the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes. Investors are looking ahead to an OPEC meeting later in the day, which is widely expected to extend output cuts.
The FOMC minutes were consistent with another hike in June, but conditional on recent economic softness proving transitory. Policy makers also discussed scaling back their $4 trillion-plus holdings of mortgage-backed bonds and longer-term U.S. government bonds.
The Australian market reversed early losses and is modestly higher. In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is up 14.50 points or 0.25 percent to 5,783.50 and the broader All Ordinaries Index is up 11.70 points or 0.20 percent to 5,823.20.
In the banking sector, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are lower in a range of 0.5 percent to 1.2 percent.
Westpac has completed the institutional book build to offload a A$645 million stake in BT Investment Management and raise capital to boost its balance sheet. The company's shares are down almost 1 percent, while shares of BT Investment are losing almost 6 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower after crude oil prices declined overnight. Oil Search is down 0.5 percent and Santos is declining 0.3 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent.
The major miners are mostly higher. BHP Billiton is adding 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto is up 0.2 percent, while Fortescue Metals is losing 0.2 percent.
Gold miners are also advancing after gold prices rebounded following the release of the Fed minutes. Newcrest Mining is rising almost 1 percent and Evolution Mining is gaining almost 2 percent.
Ansell is launching a $265 million share buyback after agreeing to sell its condom business to a Chinese consortium for $600 million. The company's shares are rising more than 2 percent.
Aristocrat Leisure reported a 57 percent surge in profit for the first half of the year and reiterated its full-year earnings outlook. Shares of the poker machine supplier are higher by more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday following the release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7503, up from US$0.7459 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market recovered after a weak start and is higher following the positive lead overnight from Wall Street after the release of the latest Federal Reserve minutes.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 65.66 points or 0.33 percent to 19,808.64, off a low of 19,720.12 in early trades.
The major exporters are mostly higher despite a stronger yen. Toshiba is gaining more than 1 percent, Panasonic is advancing almost 1 percent and Canon is up 0.2 percent, while Sony is declining 0.4 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is losing 0.5 percent and Honda is down more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is lower by 0.2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down 0.6 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining more than 1 percent and JXTG Holdings is down 0.5 percent after crude oil prices nudged lower overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Konami Holdings is rising almost 4 percent, Komatsu is advancing almost 3 percent and SoftBank is higher by more than 2 percent. On the flip side, Furukawa is down 3 percent, Tosoh Corp. is lower by almost 3 percent and Tokai Carbon is losing more than 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the mid 111 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are all higher. The markets in Indonesia are closed on Thursday for the Ascension Day holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks extended their winning streak to five sessions on Wednesday following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
The Dow climbed 74.51 points or 0.4 percent to 21,012.42, the Nasdaq advanced 24.31 points or 0.4 percent to 6,163.02 and the S&P 500 rose 5.97 points or 0.3 percent to 2,404.39.
The major European markets turned in another mixed performance on Wednesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both edged down by 0.1 percent.
Crude oil futures nudged lower Wednesday, trimming recent gains despite word that OPEC will agree to extend its supply quota plan. July WTI crude lost $0.11 or 0.2 percent to settle at $51.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the first loss in six sessions.
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