(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are exhibiting a mixed trend on Tuesday despite the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street, as more upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine front was offset by worries about the continued surge in coronavirus cases worldwide. Moderna said data from a late-stage trial showed its coronavirus vaccine candidate was more than 94 percent effective in preventing infection.
The Australian market is rising following the overnight gains on Wall Street and as the surge in crude oil prices lifted oil stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 28.00 points or 0.43 percent to 6,512.30, after rising to a high of 6,530.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 24.10 points or 0.36 percent to 6,711.10. Australian stocks rose on Monday before trading was halted for the entire day due to "market data issues".
Oil stocks are notably higher after crude oil prices surged overnight. Oil Search is rising more than 4 percent, Santos is gaining more than 3 percent and Woodside Petroleum is advancing more than 2 percent.
In the banking space, Westpac and ANZ Banking are advancing more than 2 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are adding more than 1 percent each.
Among the major miners, BHP Group is advancing almost 2 percent, Fortescue Metals is higher by 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto is adding 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miners are notably lower even as gold prices edged higher overnight. Evolution Mining is tumbling 4 percent and Newcrest Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
In economic news, members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy board felt that the country's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was well underway, but would be protracted, minutes from the central bank's November 3 meeting revealed on Tuesday. To that end, the members agreed that fiscal and monetary support would likely be required for some time.
At the meeting, the RBA decided to lower its key cash rate by 15 basis points to a record low of 0.10 percent. It also decided to cut the target for the yield on the 3-year Australian Government bond to around 0.1 percent and to purchase A$100 billion government bonds of maturities of around 5 to 10 years over the next six months.
The Japanese market is modestly higher following the record closing highs overnight on Wall Street.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 63.62 points or 0.25 percent to 25,970.55, after touching a high of 26,057.30 earlier. Japanese shares ended at a fresh 29-year high on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining almost 1 percent, while Fast Retailing is rising more than 2 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 1 percent and Advantest is up 0.6 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 3 percent and Canon is advancing more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is declining more than 1 percent and Sony is down almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is rising more than 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are declining almost 1 percent each.
Among the other major gainers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is gaining more than 5 percent, while T&D Holdings and ANA Holdings are rising more than 4 percent each. East Japan Railway is higher by almost 4 percent.
Conversely, Trend Micro is losing more than 3 percent, while Japan Exchange Group and Chugai Pharmaceutical are lower by almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 104 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan are also higher, while Shanghai, New Zealand and Malaysia are lower. South Korea is little changed.
On Wall Street, stocks closed at record highs on Monday following more upbeat news on the coronavirus vaccine front, with Moderna reporting positive results from a trial of its vaccine candidate. Moderna said that the trial of its potential coronavirus vaccine has met the statistical criteria pre-specified in the study protocol for efficacy, with a vaccine efficacy of 94.5 percent.
The Dow surged up 470.63 points or 1.6 percent to 29,950.44, the Nasdaq climbed 94.84 points or 0.8 percent to 11,924.13 and the S&P 500 jumped 41.76 points or 1.2 percent to 3,626.92.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Monday. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both surged up by 1.7 percent.
Crude oil prices surged higher on Monday as strong economic data from China and Japan and hopes about OPEC and allies continuing to curb output helped ease concerns about energy demand outlook. WTI crude for December delivery jumped $1.21 or about 3 percent to $41.34 a barrel.
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