Asian Markets Trading Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Thursday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as the release of hot August US inflation report reinforced expectations the US Fed will leave interest rates unchanged next week. However, many economists feel the slightly bigger than expected monthly increase in core prices leaves the door open for another rate hike. Asian Markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday.

Following the report, CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates a 97.0 percent chance the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged next week. The outlook for November remains more mixed, with indications of a 58.0 percent chance rates will remain unchanged and a 40.8 percent chance of another quarter-point rate hike.

The Australian stock market is notably higher on Thursday after opening in the red, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,200 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, boosted by gains in mining and energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 36.20 points or 0.51 percent to 7,190.10, after touching a high of 7,191.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 38.10 points or 0.52 percent to 7,383.80. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Wednesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent, Fortescue Metals is gaining almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 2 percent.

Oil stocks are higher. Santos, Origin Energy and Beach energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Woodside Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Appen is losing 1.5 percent. Zip is gaining almost 1 percent. Xero is flat. Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is flat. Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources, Newcrest Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is losing more than 1 percent. Resolute Mining is flat. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.643 on Thursday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Thursday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 33,000 mark, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors, led by index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 33,049.01, up 342.49 points or 1.05 percent, after touching a high of 33,085.86 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly lower on Wednesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing 1.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Toyota is flat and Honda is gaining almost 2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron and Screen Holdings are adding 2.5 percent each.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mizuho Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Panasonic is gaining more than 1 percent, Sony is adding almost 1 percent and Canon is edging up 0.3 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent.

Among other major gainers, Idemitsu Kosan is gaining more than 4 percent and ENEOS Holdings is adding more than 3 percent, while JGC Holdings, Mitsui Fudosan, Konica Minolta, Nikon, TDK, Dai-ichi Life and IHI are all advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha is losing more than 3 percent.

In economic news, the value of core machine orders in Japan slumped a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in July, the Cabinet Office said on Thursday - coming in at 844.9 billion yen. That missed expectations for a decline of 0.9 percent following the 2.7 percent increase in June.

On a yearly basis, core machine orders stumbled 13.0 percent - again shy of forecasts for a decline of 10.7 percent after shedding 5.8 percent in the previous month. For the third quarter of 2023, core machine orders are seen lower by 2.6 percent on quarter and 7.9 percent on year at 2,517.4 billion yen.

The total value of machinery orders received by 280 manufacturers operating in Japan increased 9.8 percent on month and 0.8 percent on year to 2,901.4 billion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 147 yen-range on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is up 1.1 percent, while Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. On Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Wednesday, with the major averages bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line as traders digested a highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation.

The major averages eventually ended the session mixed. While the Dow dipped 70.46 points or 0.2 percent to 34,575.53, the S&P 500 inched up 5.54 points or 0.1 percent to 4,467.44 and the Nasdaq rose 39.97 points or 0.3 percent to 13,813.59.

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

Crude oil futures settled lower on Wednesday on worries about demand after data showed an unexpected jump in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October fell $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $88.52 a barrel.