Australia Trade Data On Tap For Thursday

Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as markets in the region cheered news that President-elect Donald Trump's economic team is discussing a cautious and slow approach in implementing tariff hikes to avoid an inflation spike. The US dollar also weakened against most of the currencies in the region.

Higher GIFT Nifty futures point to a positive start for Indian shares on Tuesday. Investors are also likely to react positively to data showing a drop in consumer price inflation in the month of December. Some bargain hunting is likely as well after four successive days of declines.

The Australian stock market is trimming its early gains in mid-market trading on Tuesday, after snapping the three-session losing streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index moving above the 8,200.00 level, with gains in mining and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in financial and technology stocks.

The Thai stock market moved lower again on Monday, one session after halting the two-day slide in which it had stumbled almost 30 points or 2.2 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand now sits just beneath the 1,355-point plateau and it may find renewed support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support from the oil companies likely offset by weakness from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The SET finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the food, consumer, property, service and technology sectors, while the financials offered support. For the day, the index dropped 13.65 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 1,354.34 after trading between 1,349.02 and 1,362.14. Volume was 9.462 billion shares worth 43.022 billion baht. There were 342 decliners and 146 gainers, with 178 stocks finishing unchanged. Among the actives, Advanced Info fell 0.35 percent, while Thailand Airport plummeted 3.00 percent, Asset World plunged 3.66 percent, Banpu surged 4.81 percent, Bangkok Bank jumped 1.64 percent, Bangkok Dusit Medical increased 0.84 percent, Bangkok Expressway lost 2.14 percent, B. Grimm declined 1.16 percent, BTS Group gained 1.69 percent, CP All Public tumbled 1.80 percent, Charoen Pokphand Foods retreated 1.36 percent, Energy Absolute cratered 10 percent, Gulf shed 0.85 percent, Kasikornbank strengthened 1.57 percent, Krung Thai Bank collected 1.38 percent, Krung Thai Card dropped 0.99 percent, PTT Exploration and Production spiked 2.01 percent, PTT Global Chemical sank 0.87 percent, SCG Packaging climbed 1.13 percent, Siam Commercial Bank improved 1.68 percent, Siam Concrete stumbled 1.62 percent, Thai Oil accelerated 2.00 percent, True Corporation slumped 1.79 percent, TTB Bank rallied 2.22 percent and PTT Oil & Retail and PTT were unchanged.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower in post-holiday trading on Tuesday, extending the loses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 38,700 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The Indonesia stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 20 points or 0.3 percent. The Jakarta Composite Index now sits just above the 7,015-point plateau although it's expected to open in the green on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support from the oil companies likely offset by weakness from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The JCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the cement and financial sectors, while the resource stocks came in mixed. For the day, the index slumped 71.99 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 7,016.88 after trading between 6,986.59 and 7,089.57. Among the actives, Bank CIMB Niaga skidded 1.16 percent, while Bank Mandiri retreated 1.34 percent, Bank Danamon Indonesia fell 0.40 percent, Bank Negara Indonesia surrendered 3.22 percent, Bank Central Asia shed 0.51 percent, Bank Rakyat Indonesia plunged 3.99 percent, Bank Maybank Indonesia dropped 0.98 percent, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison rose 0.42 percent, Indocement tanked 3.17 percent, Semen Indonesia stumbled 2.01 percent, United Tractors climbed 1.20 percent, Astra International declined 3.06 percent, Energi Mega Persada rallied 2.48 percent, Astra Agro Lestari strengthened 1.69 percent, Aneka Tambang advanced 1.02 percent, Jasa Marga tumbled 2.00 percent, Timah surged 3.88 percent, Bumi Resources plummeted 4.10 percent and Indofood Sukses Makmur and Vale Indonesia were unchanged.

The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, retreating almost 900 points or 4.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 18,870-point plateau although it's expected to find some traction on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with support from the oil companies likely offset by weakness from the technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies. For the day, the index retreated 190.15 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 18,874.14 after trading between 18,671.49 and 18,929.12. Among the actives, Alibaba Group tumbled 1.88 percent, while Alibaba Health Info surged 2.85 percent, ANTA Sports was down 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance and Techtronic Industries both lost 0.76 percent, China Mengniu Dairy shed 0.92 percent, China Resources Land spiked 2.09 percent, CITIC added 0.24 percent, CNOOC soared 2.23 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slid 0.46 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surrendered 2.29 percent, Haier Smart Home plummeted 6.83 percent, Hang Lung Properties declined 1.83 percent, Henderson Land slumped 1.79 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas skidded 1.50 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.41 percent, JD.com dropped 1.45 percent, Lenovo fell 0.75 percent, Li Auto tanked 3.01 percent, Li Ning sank 1.08 percent, Meituan retreated 1.93 percent, New World Development plunged 5.18 percent, Nongfu Spring rallied 2.14 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 2.24 percent and WuXi Biologics weakened 1.74 percent.

The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, snapping the three-session losing streak, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is moving above the 8,200 level, with gains in iron ore miners and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners, financial and technology stocks.