Asian stock markets are mostly higher on Tuesday as investors shrugged off the weak cues overnight from Wall Street and looked ahead of the start of the earnings season this week. The Japanese and South Korean markets, which reopened after holidays, are among the leading gainers.
The Australian market is modestly higher, recovering from a weak start following the negative cues overnight from Wall Street. Higher commodity prices and data showing an uptick in business confidence in September boosted investor sentiment.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is adding 7.30 points or 0.13 percent to 5,746.60, after touching a low of 5,720.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 9.50 points or 0.16 percent to 5,814.60.
Mining stocks are mostly lower despite a gain in iron ore prices overnight. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are declining almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is adding 0.5 percent.
Gold miners are higher as gold prices rose. Evolution Mining is advancing almost 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is adding 0.6 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are higher in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank is down 0.4 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower despite crude oil prices rising overnight. Woodside Petroleum is down 0.2 percent, Santos is lower by 0.5 percent and Oil Search is losing almost 1 percent.
In economic news, the latest survey from National Australia Bank revealed that business confidence in Australia ticked slightly higher in September, with an index score of +7. That's up from +5 in August.
The survey also showed that business conditions came in with a score of +14 - unchanged from the previous month following a downward revision from +15.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar is higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7759, down from US$0.7767 on Monday.
The Japanese market, which reopened for trading after a holiday on Monday, is advancing after a weak start. Investor sentiment was boosted by data that showed Japan's current account surplus for the month of August exceeded expectations.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 66.69 points or 0.32 percent to 20,757.40, after touching a low of 20,663.08 earlier.
The major exporters are mixed on a stronger yen. Sony is declining more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is losing almost 2 percent, while Canon is adding 0.5 percent and Panasonic is advancing almost 1 percent.
Among automakers, Toyota is higher by more than 1 percent and Honda is up 0.2 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are lower by more than 1 percent each.
In the oil space, Inpex is declining almost 2 percent and Japan Petroleum Exploration is down almost 3 percent despite crude oil prices rising overnight.
Among the best performers, Taisei Corp. is rising almost 4 percent, Hino Motors is advancing almost 3 percent and Recruit Holdings is up more than 2 percent.
On the flip side, Sompo Holdings and MS&AD Insurance are losing more than 4 percent each, Marubeni Corp. is down almost 4 percent and Tokio Marine is declining more than 2 percent.
In economic news, the Ministry of Finance said that Japan posted a current account surplus of 2.380 trillion yen in August, up 20.8 percent on year. The headline figure exceeded expectations for a surplus of 2.223 trillion yen and was up from 2.320 trillion yen in July.
Exports climbed 16.3 percent on year to 6.165 trillion yen - but declined from 6.401 trillion yen in the previous month. Imports jumped an annual 15.1 percent to 5.847 trillion yen - up from 5.834 trillion yen a month earlier.
Japan will also see September results for the Eco Watchers survey and September numbers for bankruptcies today.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the upper 112 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea, New Zealand and Indonesia are also higher, while Shanghai, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong are lower. The markets in Taiwan are closed on Tuesday for the National Day holiday.
On Wall Street, stocks closed modestly lower on Monday as many traders were away from their desks due to the Columbus Day holiday and as the earnings season loomed. While the stock markets were open on the day, the bond markets, banks, and non-essential federal government offices were closed.
The Dow edged down 12.60 points or 0.1 percent to 22,761.07, the Nasdaq dipped 10.45 points or 0.1 percent to 6,579/73 and the S&P 500 slipped 4.60 points or 0.2 percent to 2,544.73.
The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on Monday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index inched up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index rose by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil futures advanced on Monday after OPEC hinted at more production cuts to restore market balance in the long term. WTI crude rose $0.29 to close at $49.58 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.