Asian Markets Mixed Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious ahead of the release of key US economic data later in the week that could impact the expectations regarding how quickly the US Fed will lower interest rates. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East is also weighing on market sentiment. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

Crudes oil prices plunged after Israel's retaliatory attack against Iran over the weekend did not damage the Islamic republic's energy facilities.

The monthly jobs report, consumer confidence, pending home sales, manufacturing sector activity, third quarter GDP as well as a report on personal income and spending that includes the Fed's preferred inflation readings are likely to be in the spotlight this week.

While the Fed is widely expected to lower interest rates by another quarter point next month, CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a nearly 30 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged in December.

Extending the gains in the previous two sessions, the Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well above the 8,200 level, with gains in mining, financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks amid tumbling crude oil prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 40.60 points or 0.49 percent to 8,250.90, after touching a high of 8,262.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 40.20 points or 0.47 percent to 8,518.40. Australian stocks closed slightly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Mineral Resources is surging more than 5 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 percent each, while Woodside Energy is losing almost 1 percent and Beach energy is declining more than 1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Appen is gaining almost 4 percent, WiseTech Global is adding almost 3 percent, Afterpay owner Block rising 1.5 percent, Xero is edging up 0.2 percent and Zip is soaring more than 9 percent after reporting upbeat half-year financial results. Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each, while Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Newmont is adding more than 2 percent and Northern Star resources is advancing almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.

In other news, shares in Premier Investment are rallying more than 11 precent after it agreed to sell its apparel brands business in Australia and New Zealand to Myer.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.658 on Tuesday.

Adding to the sharp gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is trading notably higher on Tuesday after opening in the red, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 38,800 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and financial stocks.

The markets are reacting to domestic data showing unemployment rate edged lower to 2.4 percent in September from 2.5 percent in August, the lowest in eight months.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,819.51, up 213.98 points or 0.55 percent, after touching a high of 38,897.93 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging down 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.1 percent and Toyota is also edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining almost 3 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 1 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each. Canon is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the other major gainers, M3 is surging almost 5 percent, Shionogi & Co. is gaining more than 4 percent and Nitto Denko is adding almost 4 percent, while Furukawa Electric, IHI and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are advancing more than 3 percent each. Astellas Pharma and Renesas Electronics are rising almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Toto is plummeting almost 13 percent and Tokuyama is losing 3.5 percent.

In economic news, the unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in September, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said on Tuesday. That was below expectations for 2.5 percent, which would have been unchanged from the August reading.

The jobs-to-applicant ratio was 1.24 - beating forecasts for 1.23, which again would have been unchanged from the previous month. The participation rate was 63.5 percent, shy of forecasts for 63.6 percent, which would have been steady from a month prior.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 152 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is down 1.8 percent, while New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea are lower by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each. Hong Kong is up 1.1 percent, while China, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.3 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Monday but managed to end the day mostly higher after showing a strong move to the upside early in the session. The major averages all finished the day in positive territory after turning in mixed performances over the two previous sessions.

The Dow advanced 273.17 points or 0.7 percent to 42,387.57, the Nasdaq climbed 48.58 points or 0.3 percent to 18,567.19 and the S&P 500 rose 15.40 points or 0.3 percent to 5,821.52.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index rose by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday as concerns about supply disruptions faded after Israel avoided hitting Iranian oil facilities over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December plunged $4.40 or 6.1 percent at $67.38 a barrel.