Asian Markets Trading Mixed

Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders remaining cautious amid concerns about tighter monetary policies and the impact of higher rates on economic growth. Traders are also indulging in bargain hunting across various sectors. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Tuesday, snapping a four-session losing streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,100 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, pushed up by gains in mining and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 40.30 points or 0.57 percent to 7,119.00, after touching a high of 7,125.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 36.00 points or 0.50 percent to 7,300.10. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.5 percent, Rio Tinto is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is adding more than 1 percent. BHP Group is flat.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy and Santos are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent and Xero is edging down 0.5 percent, while Appen is gaining almost 1 percent. Zip is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Northern Star resources and Evolution Mining are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Newcrest Mining is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is adding more than 1 percent, while Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In other news, shares in Medibank are sliding almost 5 percent after the insurer was told by Australia’s banking regulator to keep aside A$250 million in extra capital for the remediation program after last year’s data breach.

Shares in Collins Foods are soaring almost 13 percent after the KFC operator reported strong results for the full-year 2023.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.672 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 33,500 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, and dragged by losses in market heavyweights.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 32,446.70, down 252.11 points or 0.77 percent, after hitting a low of 32,306.99 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 2.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 3 percent and Screen Holdings is down more than 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging up 0.1 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent, Sony is declining almost 2 percent and Canon is down almost 1 percent. Panasonic is flat.

Among the other major losers, CyberAgent and Marubeni are losing almost 4 percent each, while Sumitomo Realty & Development, Citizen Watch, M3, Sumitomo Pharma, Mitsubishi, Mitsui Fudosan, Japan Steel Works, Mitsubishi Logistics and Recruit Holdings are all declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is surging almost 7 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 143 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is up 1.4 percent, while China, Singapore and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. Malaysia is relatively flat.

On the Wall Street, stocks closed lower on Monday with those from the technology sector suffering sharp losses. Worries about tighter monetary policies and the impact of higher rates on economic growth weighed on the market. Investors looked ahead to the results of Bank Stress Tests, and some crucial economic data releases this week.

The major averages all closed in the red. The Dow edged down 12.72 points or 0.04 percent to settle at 33,714.71, and the S&P 500 drifted down 19.51 points or 0.45 percent to 4,328.82, while the Nasdaq ended down 156.74 points or 1.16 percent at 13,335.78.

The major European markets also moved mostly to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX both ended down 0.11 percent, and France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.29 percent.

Crude oil prices settled modestly higher on Monday with investors weighing global energy demand prospects and possible supply disruptions due to political instability in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.21 or about 0.3% at $69.37 a barrel.

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