Asian Markets Trading Mostly Lower

Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to some disappointing economic data from China. Optimism about an interest rate cut by the US Fed in September continued to aid sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

US Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the Economic Club of Washington D.C. that the central bank will not wait until inflation hits 2 percent to cut interest rates. Powell referenced the idea that central bank policy works with “long and variable lags” to explain why the Fed wouldn’t wait for its target to be hit.

Giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, the Australian stock market is trading slightly lower in choppy trading on Tuesday, despite the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying a tad above the 8,000 mark, with losses in iron ore miners and energy stocks amid weak commodity prices were nearly offset by gains in technology and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 7.60 points or 0.10 percent to 8,010.00, after hitting a low of 7,996.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 7.20 points or 0.09 percent to 8,255.20. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are losing almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is declining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Beach energy and Origin Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Zip is gaining almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent and Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 3 percent, while Xero is edging down 0.3 percent. Appen is flat.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Northern Star resources and Newmont are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Evolution Mining is edging up 0.1 percent. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 1 percent. Resolute Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.674 on Tuesday.

Recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is modestly higher in post-holiday trade on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 41,300 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 41,399.72, up 209.04 points or 0.51 percent, after touching a high of 41,520.07 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Friday prior to the holiday on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.5 percent.

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

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is adding almost 1 percent.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 2 percent and Canon is adding more than 1 percent, while Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent. Sony is flat.

Among the other major gainers, Taiyo Yuden is soaring almost 9 percent, while Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Alps Alpine are surging almost 6 percent each. Murata Manufacturing and TDK are gaining more than 5 percent each, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries is adding almost 5 percent. IHI is up more than 4 percent and Fanuc is advancing almost 4 percent, while NEC and Japan Steel Works are rising more than 3 percent each. Hitachi, Komatsu, Daiwa Securities, MS&AD Insurance and Marubeni are gaining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Eisai is losing more than 4 percent and Shiseido is declining almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.3 percent, while China, Singapore and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.3 percent each. Taiwan and South Korea are up 1.0 and 0.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand and Malaysia are relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks closed on a firm note on Monday with two of the three major indices moving on to record fresh highs, thanks to strong buying at several counters from across various sectors. Optimism about interest rate cuts by the Fed, and rising prospects of former President Donald Trump winning the upcoming presidential elections rendered the mood positive on Wall Street.

The Dow ended up 210.82 points or 0.53 percent at 40,211.72 after scaling a new high at 40,351.10. The S&P 500, which climbed to a new high of 5,666.94, settled at 5,631.22, gaining 15.87 points or 0.28 percent, while the Nasdaq ended with a gain of 74.12 points or 0.4 percent at 18,472.57, after hitting a high of 18,641.53.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 ended down 0.85 percent, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.84 percent and France’s CAC 40 lost 1.19 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Monday, weighed down by weighed down by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended down $0.30 at $81.91 a barrel.