Asian markets today: Asian markets trade higher tracking Wall Street sharp gains

Asian markets in Friday’s trade tracking stupendous gains on Wall Street during the overnight session traded higher. The key MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan index traded higher by 0.11 per cent at 569.53. Investors’ sentiment, meanwhile, remained cautious as they sought progress in global trade war situation.

Asian markets performance

As of the last count, Japan’s Nikkei led the gains up over 1.39 per cent, followed by South Korea’s Kospi up as much as 1 per cent. Meanwhile other Asian indices including Australia’s S&P/ ASX 200 was up 0.6 per cent.

US markets

The S&P 500 gained 2 per cent to settle at 5,484.77 (up 108.91 points), while the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.74 per cent or 458 points higher at 17,166.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged but added 486.83 points (up 1.23 per cent) to close at 40,093.40 points.

Sharp gains in the tech-heavy Nasdaq were spurred after Google parent Alphabet delivered strong first-quarter results, supported by the strengthening of its search business together with growth in the cloud business.

Oil prices

Oil prices in the previous session moved upwards amid a softer US dollar and lingering concerns over potential supply glut from the OPEC+. WTI Crude at the last count traded higher by 0.43 per cent at $63.06, while the Brent crude was up by 0.41 per cent at $66.82 per barrel.

Gold and silver prices

Gold futures in the international markets traded with gains amid a weaker dollar. Nevertheless, gold from all-time highs of $3,509.9 per ounce has come down to last trade at $3,362.89 per ounce. Similarly, silver May futures traded with gains at $33.575 per ounce.