Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, led by a strong rebound in energy stocks and renewed optimism about economic growth. However, the upside is capped as traders remained cautious amid record infections of the highly contagious coronavirus delta variant in several markets in the region and across the world. Asian markets closed mixed on Wednesday.
The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Thursday, extending the gains of the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 just below the 7,400 level, following the broadly positive cues overnight from Wall Street, led by a strong rebound in energy stocks and renewed optimism about economic growth. Traders remain concerned amid the spike in COVID-19 cases of the highly contagious delta variant in New South Wales Victoria and South Australia.
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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.