On Monday, US stocks closed at a record high. The Dow industrials rose 88.76 points, or 0.5%, to 18956.69, above its Nov. 15 closing record of 18923.06. The S&P 500 rose 16.28 points, or 0.7%, to 2198.18, closing above its Aug. 15 record of 2190.15. The Nasdaq Composite added 47.35 points, or 0.9%, to 5368.86, passing its record of 5339.52 reached on Sept. 22.
Crude oil climbed in Asian trading with US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up 1% as the dollar pulled back and expectations of production cuts grew. Prices surged 4% to a three-week high on Monday, after comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin raised hopes that producer countries will reach a deal at a meeting next week to limit output. With OPEC's twice-yearly gathering set for November 30, speculation is mounting that officials are close to a deal to tackle a global supply glut.
Among Asian bourses
Australia Stocks end higher
Australian share market closed sharp higher, inspired by tracking solid gains on Wall Street overnight and strong gains in the oil price. All industry group of the ASX issues advanced, with energy, materials, and industrials players being major gainers. At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inclined by 62 points, or 1.16%, to 5413.30, while the broader All Ordinaries index increased 61.30 points, or 1.13%, to 5480.60.
Shares of energy companies ended stronger, on the back of continued gains in the oil price. Brent oil climbed a further 1.3% to $US49.54 a barrel as traders continue to speculate on whether there will be production cuts announced at the Nov 30 OPEC meeting. Woodside Petroleum inclined by 2.4% to A$30.50, Origin Enrgy 2.1% to A$5.95, and Santos 3.8% to A$4.15.
Mining stocks inclined after iron ore and steel prices resumed rally in China as investors return to the market to pick up commodities made cheaper after days of steep losses. Iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange have surged 6% to their upside limit at 580.50 yuan ($US84). Construction steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange has also jumped 6% to hit its exchange-set ceiling at 2900 yuan a tonne. Among Mining stocks, BHP Billiton added 4% to A$25.24 and Rio Tinto jumped 2.2% to A$58.67. Pure iron ore player Fortescue Metals surged 6.8% to A$6.12.
Nikkei ends at 10-month high
The Japan share market closed slightly positive, as damage from an earthquake appeared moderate. A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's northeast early Tuesday, triggering warnings of tsunami waves as high as three metres on the coast near the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. The headline Nikkei 225 gained 0.31%, or 56.92 points, to end at 18,162.94. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.32%, or 4.57 points, at 1,447.50.
Shares of export-oriented firms weighed on the broader stock market as the yen, which is often bought as a safe haven in time of uncertainty, strengthened Tuesday soon after the quake. The dollar was trading at 110.60 yen on Tuesday, compared with levels above 111 yen seen before the earthquake. A stronger yen is negative to the stock market as it eats into exporters' profitability. The world's biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. dropped 1.1%, while Mazda Motor Corp. shed 2.2%. Car manufacturers have been one of the biggest contributors to the Topix's late rally, rising 6.4% last week amid a pullback in the local currency.
Oil explorers were the biggest gainers for a second day, buoyed by higher crude. Prices rose after Iran and Iraq signaled that a group of oil-producing countries would reach a supply-cut deal. Japan's largest oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp. advanced 1.7% while Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. added 2.5%.
Defensive stocks ranging from telecommunication shares to food companies also rose as investors shifted their focus to sectors that have been receiving less attention amid a global stock market rally that bolstered U.S. equities to record highs. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. and dairy foods producer Meiji Holdings Co. each climbed 2.4%.
China Stocks incline to fresh 10-1/2 month high
Mainland China stock market closed at fresh 10-1/2 month high, helped by a strong rally in blue-chips, in particular financial and energy shares. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.8%, to 3,468.36, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.9% to 3,248.35 points. Both closed at their highest levels since 6 January 2016.
Energy shares were among the biggest gainers, as oil prices rose to their highest level since October on Tuesday and the market priced in a potential output cut led by producer cartel OPEC. An across-the-board recovery in the commodities futures market also helped lift risk appetites for materials , amid rising expectations of higher inflation.
Financial bellwether China Life climbed to 10-month high, leading gains in other insurance companies, as investors bet the sector would benefit from rising bond yields and a recovering stock market.
Hong Kong Stocks rise for third day
The Hong Kong stock market closed up for a third day, buoyed by Wall Street rally overnight. The Hang Seng Index ended up 1.43%, or 320.29 points, to 22,678.07 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises index added 2.19%, or 206.74 points, to 9,651.45. Turnover increased to HK$70 billion from HK$63.6 billion on Monday.
Shares of energy players inclined after crude oil prices continued its rally in Asian hours after rising to three-week high overnight as the market increasingly believes that the major oil-producing countries may strike an output cut deal next week. Among energy players, CNOOC (00883) surged 5.2% to HK$10.24. Sinopec (00386) rose 2.8% to HK$5.44. PetroChina (00857) put on 3.9% to HK$5.4.
Shares related to metals also gained. Jiangxi Copper Co. added 1.5% after the price of the commodity climbed for a second day to head for its highest close since July 2015. Xinjiang Xinxin Mining (03833) gained 15% to HK$1.29. China Nonferrous Mining (01258) climbed 7.7% to HK$1.4.
Local securities firms were also chased by investors. China Fortune Financial (00290) soared 9.4% to HK$0.35. Skyway Securities (01141) shot up 6.5% to HK$0.198.
Indian Market snaps recent losing streak
Indian benchmark indices registered modest gains, snapping their recent losing streak. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 195.64 points or 0.76% to settle at 25,960.78. The Nifty 50 index rose 73.20 points or 0.92% to settle at 8,002.30.
Stocks of public sector banks were mixed. Stocks of private sector banks edged higher. Auto stocks gained. Metal & mining stocks gained across the board as global commodity prices rose. Vedanta edged higher after the company announced that it has received board's approval to raise Rs 300 crore through issue of non-convertible debentures.
Vedanta rose 4.9% after the company announced that it has received board's approval to raise Rs 300 crore through issue of 3,000 secured redeemable non-cumulative non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of face value of Rs 10 lakh each. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 November 2016. The tenure of the NCDs is three years and five months from the date of allotment, while date of maturity is 22 April 2020.
Engineering & construction major L&T was down 1.41% at Rs 1,329.20. The company's consolidated net profit jumped 84.31% to Rs 1434.63 crore on 8.73% growth in total income to Rs 25491.96 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015.
Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region: New Zealand's NZX50 fell 0.5% to 6816.39. Indonesia's Jakarta Composite index added 1.1% to 5204.67. Taiwan's Taiex added 1% to 9133.19. South Korea's KOSPI index inclined 0.9% to 1983.47. Malaysia's KLCI was up 0.1% to 1629.32. Singapore's Straits Times index rose 0.9% to 2822.20.
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