(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets, led by Japan, are in positive territory on Thursday following the overnight gains on Wall Street as investor sentiment was boosted by upbeat U.S. economic data and unconfirmed reports of possible vaccine breakthroughs for the coronavirus. However, the World Health Organization stated there are "no known" treatments against the virus.
Meanwhile, China's National Health Commission said that 563 people have died and a total of 28,018 cases have been confirmed in the country related to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Australian market is rising for a third straight day following the gains on Wall Street. In addition, higher oil prices boosted energy stocks. Investors also digested mixed local corporate earnings results.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 38.00 points or 0.54 percent to 7,014.10, after rising to a high of 7,036.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 35.40 points or 0.50 percent to 7,116.30. Australian shares closed higher on Wednesday.
Among the major miners, BHP is advancing almost 1 percent, Fortescue Metals is higher by 0.6 percent and Rio Tinto is adding 0.4 percent.
The big four banks are also higher. Westpac is rising almost 2 percent and National Australia Bank is higher by more than 1 percent. ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are adding almost 1 percent each.
Oil stocks are advancing after crude oil prices rose more than 2 percent overnight. Woodside Petroleum and Santos are higher by more than 1 percent each, while Oil Search is rising 1 percent.
Meanwhile, gold miners are weak even as gold prices rebounded overnight. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is declining 0.7 percent.
Coles Group projects earnings for the six months to December 2019 to decline from the year-ago period, though the figures are expected to easily beat market expectations. The retail giant's shares are down 0.2 percent.
Dexus reported a nearly 37 percent increase in its half-year net profit after tax and raised its guidance for fiscal 2020 distribution to shareholders. The property group's shares are edging down 0.1 percent.
Mirvac reported a 5 percent decrease in profit for the first half of the year despite higher revenues, but raised its interim dividend. The property group's shares are losing almost 3 percent.
On the economic front, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the total value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent on month in December, coming in at A$27.765 billion. That missed expectations for a decline of 0.2 percent following the 0.9 percent gain in November.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also said Australia had a merchandise trade surplus of A$5.223 billion in December. That was shy of forecasts for a surplus of A$5.60 billion and down from the downwardly revised A$5.518 billion surplus in November.
Exports were up A$557 million or 1.0 percent on month to A$41.293 billion, while imports gained A$853 million or 2.0 percent on month to A$36.070 billion.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar was quoted at $0.6747, up from $0.6736 on Wednesday.
The Japanese market is surging, tracking the gains on Wall Street. In addition, a weaker yen boosted exporters' stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is rising 420.57 points or 1.80 percent to 23,740.13, after touching a high of 23,781.16 in early trades. Japanese stocks closed higher on Wednesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group Corp. is rising more than 2 percent and Fast Retailing is higher by almost 3 percent.
Among tech stocks, Advantest is adding almost 1 percent and Tokyo Electron is up 0.2 percent.
The major exporters are higher on a weaker yen. Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are rising more than 2 percent each, while Sony is higher by almost 2 percent. Panasonic is adding 0.4 percent.
Among auto stocks, Honda Motor is gaining almost 3 percent and Toyota Motor is rising almost 2 percent.
In the oil sector, Japan Petroleum is advancing almost 3 percent and Inpex is higher by more than 2 percent after crude oil prices rose overnight.
Among the other major gainers, Z Holdings is gaining more than 8 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsui Chemicals are higher by more than 5 percent each.
Conversely, Fujikura is falling almost 10 percent.
DeNA Co., Nintendo Co.'s mobile partner, is losing more than 9 percent after the company said it will book a writedown of 49.4 billion yen and expects to report a loss in the year ending March 2020.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 109 yen-range on Thursday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is rising almost 2 percent and Hong Kong is advancing more than 1 percent, while Malaysia and Taiwan are higher by almost 1 percent each. Shanghai, Singapore and Indonesia are also higher. The New Zealand market is closed for a holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed at record highs on Wednesday following reports of breakthroughs in the developments of treatments for the coronavirus. A Reuters report, citing a Chinese TV source, said a research team at Zhejiang University has found an effective drug to treat people with the new virus. Sky News also reported that a leading British scientist has made a significant breakthrough in the race for a coronavirus vaccine by reducing a part of the normal development time from "two to three years to just fourteen days."
The Nasdaq rose 40.71 points or 0.4 percent to 9,508.68, the Dow surged up 483.22 points or 1.7 percent to 29,290.85 and the S&P 500 jumped 37.10 points or 1.1 percent to 3,334.69.
The major European markets also moved to the upside on Wednesday. While the German DAX Index surged up by 1.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Wednesday despite data showing a larger than expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles in the week ended January 31. Crude for March delivery jumped $1.14 or about 2.3 percent to $50.75 a barrel.
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