Asia report: Most markets higher after OPEC+ quota cut

Most stock markets in Asia were in the green on Thursday, going against weak trading on Wall Street overnight, after OPEC and its allies agreed a cut to crude production in a bid to bolster prices.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.7% at 27,311.30, as the yen weakened 0.05% against the dollar to last trade at JPY 144.71.

Robotics specialist Fanuc was up 0.05%, Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing added 1.48%, and tech investing giant SoftBank Group was ahead 2.6%.

The broader Topix index was ahead 0.5% by the end of trading in Tokyo, settling at 1,922.47.

Traders in mainland China were still away from their desks for the ‘Golden Week’ of holidays.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.02% to 2,237.86, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slipped 0.42% to 18,012.15.

The blue-chip technology stocks were on the front foot in Seoul, with Samsung Electronics up 0.54% and SK Hynix rising 0.11%.

Oil prices began to slip as the region went to bed, with Brent crude futures last down 0.05% on ICE at $93.32 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate losing 0.03% to $87.73 on NYMEX.

Prices for the thick black stuff were given a boost earlier in the Asian day, after OPEC and its allies agreed a two million barrel cut to daily production.

“OPEC and allies went ahead with a huge two million barrels per day cut to quotas - in reality this amounts to something like 700,000 to one million actual barrels removed from the market,” said Neil Wilson at Markets.com.

“The White House is not happy and accused OPEC of aligning with Russia.”

Wilson described it as “a bit of a humiliation” for the White House after months of strategic petroleum reserve releases and an attempt at arm-twisting.

“Brent spot prices this morning just eased back a touch from the 50-day line; we await to see whether the rally out of the channel can lead to further gains.”

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 eked out gains of 0.03% to 6,817.50, while across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 lost 0.49% to 11,125.24.

The down under dollars were both weaker against the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.32% at AUD 1.5463, and the Kiwi retreating 0.53% to NZD 1.7517.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.