Asian stock markets are rising on Wednesday following the overnight gains on Wall Street as investors shrugged off an escalation in trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. In response to tariffs announced by the Trump administration, China said it will retaliate by imposing tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, effective September 24.
The Australian market is rising following the overnight gains on Wall Street despite escalating U.S.-China trade tensions. Mining stocks are among the leading gainers, reflecting higher copper and iron ore prices.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 16.20 points or 0.26 percent to 6,177.70, just off a high of 6,178.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 16.60 points or 0.26 percent to 6,286.10.
In the mining space, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are rising almost 2 percent, while Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 2 percent.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is adding 0.6 percent and Evolution Mining is up 0.4 percent despite weaker gold prices.
Oil stocks are also higher after crude oil prices rose overnight. Oil Search is edging up 0.1 percent, Woodside Petroleum is rising 0.3 percent and Santos is advancing more than 1 percent.
Bucking the trend, ANZ Banking, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are lower in a range of 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent.
On the economic front, Australia will see August results for skilled vacancies and for the Westpac leading index today.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The local currency was quoted at $0.7223, up from $0.7213 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is extending gains from the previous session following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Investors are looking ahead to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision due later in the day.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is rising 343.06 points or 1.49 percent to 23,763.60, after touching a high of 23,804.65 in early trades. Japanese shares rallied on Tuesday as traders returned to their desks after a long holiday weekend.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are rising almost 2 percent each, while Sony is advancing more than 1 percent and Canon is adding 0.2 percent.
In the auto space, Toyota is adding almost 1 percent and Honda is gaining more than 2 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up almost 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is higher by more than 2 percent each.
Among oil stocks, Inpex and Japan Petroleum are rising more than 1 percent each.
Among the major gainers, Yaskawa Electric is gaining more than 5 percent, Dai-ichi Life is rising almost 5 percent and Sony Financial is advancing more than 4 percent.
On the flip side, Kansai Electric is losing more than 4 percent and Pioneer Corp. is declining almost 2 percent.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting and then announce its decision on interest rates today. The benchmark lending rate is expected to hold steady at -0.1 percent.
The Ministry of Finance said Japan posted a 444.594 billion yen trade deficit in August. That beat forecasts for a shortfall of 483.2 billion yen following the 231.9 billion yen deficit in July.
Exports climbed 6.6 percent on year to 6.691 trillion yen, exceeding expectations for 5.2 percent and up from 3.9 percent in the previous month. Imports jumped an annual 15.4 percent to 7.136 trillion yen versus forecasts for 14.5 percent and up from 14.6 percent a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 112 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, Singapore, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are also higher, while South Korea is edging lower.
On Wall Street, stocks closed higher on Tuesday as traders seemed to express relief that the rates of tariffs the U.S. will impose on Chinese goods as well as the retaliatory tariffs China will impose on U.S. goods are not as high as feared. Despite the threat from Trump, China announced it will retaliate by imposing tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods, effective September 24.
The Dow climbed 184.84 points or 0.7 percent to 26,246.96, the Nasdaq advanced 60.32 points or 0.8 percent to 7,956.11 and the S&P 500 rose 15.51 points or 0.5 percent to 2,904.31.
Most European stocks also saw some strength on Tuesday, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just below the unchanged line. The French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday, with traders betting on possible supply shortage after U.S. sanctions on Iran that come into force from early November. WTI crude for October delivery rose $0.94 or 1.4 percent to $69.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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