Asian markets: Most bourses trade higher as oil prices rebound

Stock markets across Asia were trading higher on 25 January as oil prices gained momentum. Both WTI and Brent Crude surged and were trading above $32 a barrel.

In the previous trading session, Wall Street and FTSE got a boost from the European Central Bank, which hinted at possible monetary easing over the next two months. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 1.33% at 16,093.51, London's FTSE 100 too gained 2.19% to close at 5,900.01 in final trading sessions on 22 January.

ECB's President Mario Draghi suggested that there will be more easing within months. He said that the central bank would review its stance on the monetary policy in March 2016 because of declining growth and inflation prospects.

Gary Huxtable, client adviser at Atlantic Pacific Securities said, "The latest rebound in oil, combined with European and Japan central bank's hinting at further stimulus, has provided a short-term reprieve for what so far this year, can be described as a nervous and punishing market."

Asian indices as on 25 January (at 4.53am GMT) were as follows: China's Shanghai Composite Index was trading higher by 1.03% at 2,946.58; Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading at 19,430.02, up 1.83%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.74% at 5,001.70; South Korea's KOSPI was trading at 1,895.22, up 0.84%; India's CNX Nifty was trading higher by 0.7% at 7,474.05.

Japan's Nikkei 225 which was range bound during the day was trading at 17,086.53, up 0.75%. Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG said, "Speculation around further easing by the Bank of Japan at their meeting this week is likely to see further gains in the Nikkei."

Oil prices which were under pressure after international sanctions against Iran ended, bounced back on Monday (25 January). While WTI crude oil was trading up 0.53% at $32.36 a barrel, Brent crude was up 0.75% at $32.42 a barrel at 5am GMT.