Asian markets today: Most regional markets trade firm; Hang Seng leads

Asian markets today: Asian markets in Tuesday's trade drifted higher with China taking the lead as Beijing took to rate cuts on expected lines. The key MSCI Index Asia ex Japan index traded higher by 0.37 per cent. Also, investors in Australia expected a rate cut by the RBA.

However, gains in the Chinese markets were curbed as Beijing flagged that US restriction on chip exports could weigh on the trade truce reached last week between the two nations.

Asian markets performance

China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite indexes rose about 0.43 per cent and 0.26 per cent, respectively, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1 per cent. 

Japan's Nikkei was up 0.51 per cent

South Korea's Kospi 0.26 per cent up

Taiwan weighted up 0.39 per cent

S&P/ASX 200 traded higher by 0.4 per cent

US Index Futures

In the early Asian trade, after closing flat US index futures traded with a cut of up to 0.37 per cent on the Nasdaq index.

Markets in US largely did not reacted to the rating downgrade by global rating agency -Moody's.

Gold prices

Gold prices in Tuesday's trade in the spot market internationally traded with a cut of 0.6 per cent at $3,212.26 per ounce.

Oil prices

Oil prices traded higher on signs of faltering US-Iran talks. At the last count, the WTI crude futures were up over 1 per cent at $62.69 per bbl, while the Brent crude futures were up 0.2 per cent at $65.54 per bbl.