Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the mostly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, after investors digested the inflation data from the U.S., and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. The upside may be limited amid the continuing concerns about the coronavirus infections in the region.
The Shanghai composite in mainland China advanced 0.2% while the Shenzhen component climbed about 0.1%. Producer inflation surged in September, official data showed Thursday. The producer price index for September soared 10.7% as compared with a year ago. The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Thursday, led by gains in technology stocks. Traders are also upbeat after seeing a sharp 98 percent drop in domestic coronavirus cases from a month ago. The Australian stock market is significantly higher led by gains in gold mining, technology and materials stocks.
Currency markets were fairly quiet on Thursday after the dollar’s overnight drop – which was its steepest fall on the euro in five months. In commodities on Thursday oil futures steadied, hovering comfortably above $80 per barrel.