Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Wednesday with investor sentiment boosted by the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street following progress on U.S. tax reform, upbeat economic data and remarks by Federal Reserve chair nominee Jerome Powell to the Senate Banking Committee.
Investors largely shrugged off news about North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch. North Korea fired a ballistic missile early Wednesday local time in the first missile launch by the reclusive communist nation since September, with the missile landing in the Sea of Japan.
The Australian market is advancing following the record highs on Wall Street and as investors shrugged off news about North Korea's latest missile launch.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 40.30 points or 0.67 percent to 6,024.60, off a high of 6,031.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 41.50 points or 0.68 percent to 6,108.20.
Among the major miners, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals are advancing more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent even as iron ore prices fell overnight.
The big four banks - ANZ Banking, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac - are higher in a range of 0.8 percent to 1.2 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly higher despite crude oil prices edging lower. Woodside Petroleum is adding 0.2 percent and Santos is rising 0.3 percent, while Oil Search is down 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miners are mixed after gold prices edged lower overnight. Newcrest Mining is adding more than 1 percent, while Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent.
Collins Foods reported a nearly 18 percent decrease in half-year profit on acquisition and closure costs, while underlying net profit rose almost 4 percent. The KFC franchisee's shares are losing more than 6 percent.
Bingo Industries' shares are gaining more than 14 percent after the waste disposal company said it raised A$106 million in an institutional offer to fund its recently announced acquisitions.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is slightly lower against the U.S. dollar, which strengthened following positive data and comments from the incoming Federal Reserve Chair. In early trades, the local unit was quoted at US$0.7600, down from $0.7613 on Tuesday.
The Japanese market is rising, with investor sentiment bolstered by the record highs overnight on Wall Street and a weaker yen, while reaction to North Korea's latest missile launch was muted.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 131.63 points or 0.59 percent to 22,617.87, off a high of 22,643.93 earlier.
Among the major exporters, Panasonic is advancing more than 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding almost 1 percent each and Sony is up 0.4 percent, while Canon is lower by 0.3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is rising 0.2 percent and Honda is edging up less than 0.1 percent.
In the oil space, Inpex is higher by 0.5 percent and Japan Petroleum is adding more than 1 percent after crude oil prices edged lower overnight.
Among the market's best performers, Yamaha Corp. and JFE Corp. are rising more than 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Corp. is higher by 3 percent.
On the flip side, Screen Holdings is losing more than 3 percent, Tokyo Electron is down almost 3 percent and Yamaha Motor is down more than 2 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that retail sales in Japan were roughly flat on a seasonally adjusted basis in October. That missed forecasts for an increase of 0.2 percent and was down from 0.8 percent in September.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 111 yen-range.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are also higher, while Shanghai, South Korea, Hong Kong and Indonesia are modestly lower.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied on Tuesday, partly due to news that the Republican tax reform bill was approved by the Senate Budget Committee. Traders also reacted positively to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair nominee Jerome Powell, who testified before the Senate Banking Committee.
The Dow surged up 255.93 points or 1.1 percent to 23,836.71, the Nasdaq climbed 33.84 points or 0.5 percent to 6,912.36 and the S&P 500 jumped 25.62 points or 1 percent to 2,627.04.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Crude oil futures inched lower Tuesday ahead of U.S. inventories data. January WTI oil fell $0.12 or 0.2 percent to settle at $57.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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