Wall Street gains propel Asian indices up; China markets reopen on positive note

Taking cues from the overnight gains on Wall Street, Asian markets moved upwards marginally on Thursday. The reopening of trading in Chinese markets after a long-week holiday streak also infused fresh interest into the market.

Barring Nikkei and Hang Seng, remaining Asian indices were showing upward movements during intraday trading. The trading volume increased 34 percent on Shanghai bourse as over 900 stocks were moving upwards.

Japan's Nikkie eased marginally on account of stronger Yen. S&P 500 index surged overnight on Wall Street reaching to its three-week high as biotechnology shares propelled the rise in the US markets. The materials stocks soared on renewed demand for precious metals.

MSCI index of Asia-Pacific outside Japan rose 0.3 percent. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent and Australian shares gained 0.9 percent. Contrary to uptrend in Asian stocks, Japan stock market benchmark Nikkei eased 0.2 percent owing to strengthening Yen.

Chinese markets were closed during 1-7 October on account of National Day celebrations.

Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Hamman, said: "Arguably, two of the most important developments since China's holiday began are the weakness in the US employment data and, leaving aside the UK, output of the major economies appeared to slow in August."

The Chinese government's measures to strengthen the economy are increasing business confidence. The frequent cuts in interest rate since November failed to generate desired results for Chinese economy.

The government has also reduced the tax on passenger vehicles, lowered down payment requirement in property deals. The Shanghai Composite index rose 2.9 percent as real estate and automobile shares gained.

Hong Kong bourse benchmark Hang Seng eased 1.2 percent after gaining 11 percent during the week-long holiday in Chinese markets. Over 900 stocks on Shanghai bourse rose, while trading volume swelled by 34 percent indicating it's above 30-day average.

Considering the global economy slowdown, the US Federal Reserve decided not to raise interest rate in September. The concerns about Chinese economy slowdown are also impacting the global economy.

The US non-farm employment report announced last week was also not encouraging for the markets. This further hammered down the forecasts made on higher chances for interest rate hike.

The minutes of September meeting held by the US Federal Reserve are scheduled to be released on 8 October. Perhaps, this information would enable investors and market analysts to ascertain the situation.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota and San Francisco Fed President John Williams are expected to deliver their speeches on 8 October.

The US dollar turned weaker after the US jobs data indicated bleak chances of interest rate hike. The US dollar against Yen eased off for the third session continuously. The steady monetary policy announced by Bank of Japan has further strengthened the Japanese currency Yen.

Euro was steady at $1.1238 against the US dollar owing to the weaker than forecast industrial output in German. The encouraging industrial output in the UK strengthened the Sterling Pound. Commodity currencies including Australia and Canadian dollars were in demand.