Asian Markets Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders look to book some profits after the recent strength in the markets and amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates. They also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key US inflation data later in the week. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,500 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with losses in mining and energy stocks partially offset by gains in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 39.90 points or 0.53 percent to 7,480.60, after hitting a low of 7,479.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 37.80 points or 0.49 percent to 7,711.70. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are losing almost 2 percent each. Mineral Resources is declining almost 5 percent after it bought a 9.97 percent stake in Kali Metals, which is jumping more than 38 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Woodside Energy are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Beach energy is declining more than 2 percent and Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining more than 1 percent, while Xero and Appen are adding almost 1 percent each. Zip is losing 1.5 percent. WiseTech Global is flat.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.1 percent, while Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Among gold miners, Newmont is declining more than 3 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining are down more than 1 percent each. Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is adding more than 1 percent. In other news, shares in Neometals are surging more than 11 percent after the battery technology company got a $30 million dollar order from luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.

Shares in Alumina are soaring more than 13 percent after its announced plans to halt alumina production at its Western Australia Kwinana plant this year.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.670 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 moved well above the 34,400 level to 34-year highs, with gains across most sectors, led by exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 34,386.79, up 623.61 points or 1.85 percent, after touching a 34-year high of 34,402.45 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is flat and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 3 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are gaining more than 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding almost 2 percen. Screen Holdings is flat.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony is gaining more than 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is advancing almost 2 percent, Canon is adding more than 1 percent and Panasonic is up almost 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Olympus is surging almost 6 percent, while Kyocera and Daiichi Sankyo are advancing more than 5 percent each. Trend Micro is gaining more than 4 percent, while TDK, Nintendo, Keisei Electric Railway, Nissan Chemical and M3 are adding almost 4 percent each. Terumo, Fanuc, Eisai, Denso, JTEKT and Toyota Tsusho are all up more than 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 144 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.3 and 1.0 percent each. Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.3 percent. China and Hong Kong are relatively flat.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower in early trading on Tuesday but regained ground over the course of the session. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq peeking above the unchanged line.

The major averages finished the day mixed. While the Nasdaq inched up 13.94 points or 0.1 percent to 14,857.71, the S&P 500 edged down 7.04 points or 0.2 percent to 4,756.50 and the Dow fell 157.85 points or 0.4 percent to 37,525.16.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved modestly lower on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index slipped by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday as rising geopolitical risks raised concerns about possible supply and trade disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February settled higher by $1.47 at $72.24 a barrel.