Asian markets trade higher following positive overnight close on Wall Street

Most Asian stock market indices were trading higher on Wednesday (13 July). The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.41% at 3,061.85 as of 6.07am GMT, following a positive close on Wall Street overnight (12 July) amid stimulus expectations from Japan and resolution of the UK political uncertainty following the Brexit vote.

While Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently committed to making some bold investments in the country, following his coalition's win in the upper house elections, many expect additional stimulus measures from the Bank of Japan. These encouraging developments and the news that Theresa May would take over as UK prime minister gave a boost to the market sentiment.

Angus Nicholson, market analyst at brokerage firm IG, was quoted by CNBC as saying: "After being faced with the prospect of a major slowdown in global activity in the wake of the Brexit vote, governments and central banks worldwide are now expected to do their utmost to reassure markets and provide stimulus."

Indices in the rest of Asia traded as follows on 13 July at 6.18am GMT:

Overnight (12 July), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,347.67, up 0.66%, while the FTSE 100 closed at 6,680.69, down 0.03%

Among commodities, oil prices were trading in the red after the American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest US trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, reported an increase of 2.2 million barrels in the country's inventory last week. While, WTI crude oil was trading lower by 1.05% at $46.31 (£34.85, €41.86) a barrel, Brent crude was trading 1.18% lower at $47.90 a barrel as of 6.26am GMT.