Asian Markets Mixed In Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets. They also remain cautious ahead of the US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony this week, which would provide clues about the outlook for interest rates. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

The Fed chief is likely to reiterate recent comments stressing the central bank needs greater confidence inflation is slowing before cutting interest rates. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for March 19-20, with the Fed widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday, adding to the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling to be a tad above the 7,700 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with losses in mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 6.20 points or 0.08 percent to 7,718.00, after hitting a low of 7,695.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 14.60 points or 0.18 percent to 7,973.70. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Origin Energy are declining more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is losing 1.5 percent. Woodside Energy is edging up 0.1 percent. In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 3 percent, Xero is slipping almost 2 percent and WiseTech Global is declining more than 2 percent, while Appen is surging more than 8 percent and Zip is soaring more than 9 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent. Evolution Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Newmont is edging down 0.5 percent.

In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 0.2% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That was in line with expectations and unchanged from the three months prior. On an annualized basis, GDP advanced 1.5 percent - exceeding expectations for 1.4 percent but slowing from 2.1 percent in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the total value of retail sales in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - coming in at A$35.723billion. That was in line with expectations following the 2.7 percent slump in December. On a yearly basis, sales also rose 1.1 percent. Total online retailing sales were A$3.998 billion in January, up 1.5 percent on month.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, extending the slight losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling to a tad above the 40,000 mark, as traders engaged in booking some profits after the recent strength in the markets that took the indices to record all-time highs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,997.66, down 99.97 points or 0.25 percent, after hitting a low of 39,769.04 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 1.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging up 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is gaining almost 2, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is edging up 0.2 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony is edging down 0.5 percent and Canon is losing almost 1 percent, while Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 1 percent.

Among other major losers, Renesas Electronics is losing almost 4 percent, while Lasertec, TDK and Sumco are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kawasaki Heavy Industries is advancing more than 4 percent, Aozora Bank is gaining almost 4 percent and Tokyo Tatemono is adding almost 4 percent, while Yokogawa Electric, GS Yuasa, Hino Motors, Nitori Holdings, Tokyu Fudosan, Sumitomo Realty & Development and Resona Holdings are up almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 149 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore are up 1.1 percent each, while Taiwan and Indonesia are adding 0.2 percent each. New Zealand, China, South Korea and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent each.

On the Wall Street, stocks showed a more substantial move to the downside during trading on Tuesday following the modest pullback seen during the previous session. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 267.92 points or 1.7 percent to 15,939.59, the S&P 500 tumbled 52.30 points or 1.0 percent to 5,078.65 and the Dow slumped 404.64 points or 1.0 percent to 38,585.19.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.