Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as markets in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China all declined. Traders remain cautious and await the release of key US inflation report later in the week, which could impact expectations for how quickly the US Fed will cuts interest rates. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to stay above the 8,000 mark, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in mining and energy stocks amid tumbling commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 36.80 points or 0.46 percent to 8,034.40, after hitting a low of 8,008.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 37.80 points or 0.46 percent to 8,259.30. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 1 percent, Rio Tinto is down almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining almost 3 percent, while Fortescue Metals is edging up 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent, Santos is losing almost 1 percent and Woodside Energy is declining more than 1 percent, while Beach energy is edging up 0.4 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent and Zip is advancing almost 5 percent, while WiseTech Global and Appen are slipping almost 1 percent each. Xero is flat.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank are edging down 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.5 percent. Westpac is flat.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.3 percent each. Resolute Mining is adding more than 3 percent.

In other news, shares in Tabcorp are tumbling 11.5 percent after the company swung to a loss and wrote down the value of its NSW and South Australian wagering assets for the second time in a year. CEO Gillon McLachlan also dumped the company's ambitious 2025 strategy.

Shares in Kelsian are surging almost 7 percent following a 44.2 percent increase to its revenue, reflecting a full year since the company's acquisition of All Aboard America! Holdings. Profits also skyrocketed 176.2 percent.

In economic news, the value of total construction work done in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - standing at A$64.932 billion. That missed expectations for a gain of 0.8 percent following the 2.9 percent contraction in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, overall construction work rose 1.5 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.680 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to be a tad above the 38,200 level, with weakness in index heavyweights and exporter stocks amid a stronger yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,199.52, down 89.10 points or 0.23 percent, after hitting a low of 38,141.49 earlier. Japanese stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.3 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.4 percent and Toyota is adding more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 3 percent and Screen is edging up 0.4 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.1 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging down 0.2 percent. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is flat.

Among the major exporters, Canon is losing more than 1 percent, Panasonic is down almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.2 percent, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Sumitomo Chemical and Aozora Bank are declining more than 3 percent each, while Taiyo Yuden, Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Sumco are losing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Rakuten Group is soaring more than 9 percent and JTEKT is gaining more than 3 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo and Lasertec are adding almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 144 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 1.0 percent each. Malaysia and Indonesia are up 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively. On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line. Despite the choppy trading, the Dow crept up to a new record closing high.

The major averages all finished the day modestly higher. The Dow inched up 9.98 points or less than tenth of a percent to 41,250.50, the Nasdaq rose 29.05 points or 0.2 percent to 17,754.82 and the S&P 500 edged up 8.96 points or 0.2 percent to 5,625.80.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended mixed on the day after seeing early strength. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday after three successive days of strong gains, consolidating ahead of supply data due out later today. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for October slumped $1.89 or 2.5 percent at $75.53 a barrel.