Home World Asia-Pacific stocks edge higher; Australia central bank’s rate decision ahead

SINGAPORE — Shares in major Asia-Pacific markets edged higher on Tuesday morning as investors look ahead to the Australian central bank’s interest rate decision.

The Nikkei 225 and Topix index in Japan both rose fractionally in morning trade. Over in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.24%.

Meanwhile, stocks in Australia climbed as the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.22%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.08% higher.

Looking ahead, the Reserve Bank of Australia is set to announce its interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Tuesday.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

US crude futures jump

U.S. crude futures jumped in the morning of Asia trading hours on Tuesday, rising 1.57% to $76.34 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures were fractionally higher at $77.19 per barrel.

Shares of Asia-Pacific firms in the oil space rose in Tuesday morning trade, with Australia’s Beach Energy rising 1.57% while Santos gained 1.44%. Shares of Inpex in Japan also jumped 1.19%.

Oil prices surged to multiyear highs on Monday after talks between OPEC and its oil-producing allies, known as OPEC+, were postponed indefinitely following a failure by the group to reach on agreement on production policy for August and beyond.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 92.241 — off levels above 92.4 seen late last week.

The Japanese yen traded at 110.86 per dollar after touching levels around 110.8 against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7541, above levels below $0.752 seen yesterday.

Here’s a look at what’s on tap:

  • Australia: Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision at 12:30 p.m. HK/SIN

— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens contributed to this report.

Source: CNBC

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