Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders cashed in on recent strength in the markets amid lingering concerns about the global economic outlook. Worries about any aggressive tightening by the US Fed faded after data showed a drop in U.S. job openings, and a slump in U.S. manufacturing activity. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Traders also continued to look ahead to the release of the US Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday. The data could impact the outlook for interest rates and the economy.

The Australian stock market is slightly higher on Wednesday after opening in the red, extending the gains in the previous seven sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 mark, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by strong gains in gold miners amid a spike in bullion prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 0.80 points or 0.01 percent to 7,236.80, after touching a high of 7,262.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 0.40 points or 0.01 percent to 7,431.90. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is losing 1.5 percent, Fortescue Metals is declining almost 2 percent, Mineral Resources is down more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is slipping almost 1 percent. OZ Minerals is flat. Oil stocks are mixed. Santos is edging down 0.4 percent, while Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent. Beach energy and Woodside Energy are flat. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Appen and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each. Zip is declining almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and Westpac are flat, while Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is surging more than 7 percent, Newcrest Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, Gold Road Resources is advancing almost 4 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding almost 3 percent and Evolution Mining is up more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia fell into contraction territory in March, the latest survey from Judo Bank showed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 48.6. That's down from 50.7 in February, and it moves beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that its composite index slipped from 50.6 in February to 48.5 in March.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.677 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 28,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with losses across most sectors, led by commodity-linked stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,917.89, down 369.53 points or 1.31 percent, after hitting a low of 27,906.63 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is flat and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is declining more than 1 percent and Toyota is losing almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are flat, while Advantest is down more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are down more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon is losing almost 1 percent, Sony is down more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is declining almost 2 percent, while Panasonic is gaining more than 2 percent.

Among the other major losers, Ebara and JFE Holdings are losing more than 3 percent each, while Dowa Holdings, Kobe Steel, Fukuoka Financial, Komatsu, Japan Steel Works, Idemitsu Kosan, UBE Corp., Nippon Sheet Glass, Hitachi Construction Machinery, ENEOS Holdings, Chiba Bank, Tokai Carbon and Mitsui Chemicals are all declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In economic news, the services sector in Japan continued to expand in March, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 55.0. That's up from 54.0 in February and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 131 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each, while Malaysia is down 0.2 percent. Taiwan, China and Hong Kong are closed for the Qingming Festival holiday.

On Wall Street, stocks moved back to the downside over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after trending higher in recent sessions. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the session but slid firmly into negative territory as the day progressed.

The major averages regained some ground going into the close but remained in the red. The Dow slid 198.77 points or 0.6 percent to 33,402.38, the Nasdaq fell 63.13 points or 0.5 percent to 12,126.37 and the S&P 500 declined 23.91 points or 0.6 percent to 4,100.60.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index closed nearly unchanged and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.5 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, extending gains to a fourth straight session as the decision of the OPEC+ to cut crude production continued to support oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.29 or 0.4 percent at $80.71 a barrel.