Asian Markets Trade Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - 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. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

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 mining and energy stocks amid strong commodity prices, partially offset by weakness in financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 18.70 points or 0.23 percent to 8,210.60, after touching a high of 8,253.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 21.20 points or 0.25 percent to 8,453.10. Australian stocks closed sharply lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 1 percent, Rio Tinto is edging up 0.4 percent, Fortescue Metals is adding almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Origin Energy, Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.5 percent and Appen is declining 2.5 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is edging up 0.1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Resolute Mining, Newmont and Evolution Mining is edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Northern Star resources is gaining almost 1 percent. Gold Road Resources is flat.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent. ANZ Banking is flat.

In other news, shares in City Chic Collective are soaring almost 16 percent after reporting strong holiday trading, despite the company recording a 3.6 percent decline in revenue in the second half of 2024.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.618 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply lower in post-holiday trading on Tuesday, extending the loses in the previous three sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 38,500 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 38,469.58, up 720.82 points or 1.84 percent, after hitting a low of 38,332.91 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 2 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 6 percent and Tokyo Electron is down more than 2 percent, while Screen Holdings gaining more than 1 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 2 percent, Mizuho Financial is edging down 0.2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is down more than 1 percent.

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

Among the other major losers, Furukawa Electric is slipping more than 5 percent, Socionext is down almost 5 percent and Yaskawa Electric is sliding more than 4 percent, while Fujikura, Lasertec and Disco are declining almost 4 percent each. Mercari, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, CyberAgent, Nissan Motor and Ebara are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Ryohin Keikaku is surging more than 6 percent, Trend Micro is advancing almost 4 percent, M3 is gaining more than 3 percent and Idemitsu Kosan is adding almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 157 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, China is up 1.2 percent, while New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. Singapore and South Korea are down 0.1 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a notable move to the downside early in the session on Monday but regained ground over the course of the trading day. The S&P 500 climbed well off its worst levels of the day and into positive territory, although the Nasdaq remained in the red.

The S&P 500 rose 9.18 points or 0.2 percent to 5,836.22, while the Nasdaq fell 73.53 points or 0.4 percent to a one-month closing low of 19,088.10. The narrower Dow, on the other hand, spent most of the day in positive territory before closing up 358.67 points or 0.9 percent at 42,297.12.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.4 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices rose sharply to a five-month high on Monday amid potential supply risks after the U.S. imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil exports, while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed up $2.25 or nearly 3 percent at $78.82 a barrel.