Asian Markets Trade Mixed

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, amid the ongoing uncertainty about the tariff war and fears of a global economic slowdown. There are also some positive developments on the trade front, with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick telling CNBC the Trump administration has reached its first trade deal. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told reporters the U.S. is "very close" to a trade deal with India, has had "substantial talks" with Japan and has "the contours of a deal" with South Korea.

Traders also seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days, including key U.S. inflation data for additional clues about the US Fed's policy path.

Australian shares are trading slightly higher on Wednesday, adding to the gains in the previous four sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving up to near the 8,100 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 12.70 points or 0.16 percent to 8,083.30, after touching a high of 8,102.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 10.30 points or 0.12 percent to 8,298.20. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Rio Tinto is adding almost 1 percent. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy is edging down 0.1 percent and Beach energy is down more than 1 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are losing almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block, Zip and WiseTech Global are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Xero is edging up 0.4 percent. Appen is losing almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and Westpac are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each. Among gold miners, Newmont is edging down 0.5 percent and Northern Star Resources is declining more than 1 percent, while Evolution Mining and Gold Road Resources are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Resolute Mining is flat.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.640 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modest higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous four sessions, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving a tad above the 35,900 level, with gains in exporters and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in automakers and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 35,902.51, up 62.52 points or 0.17 percent, after touching a high of 36,023.24 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Monday ahead of the holiday on Tuesday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest and Tokyo Electron are losing almost 1 percent each, while Screen Holdings is edging down 0.3 percent.

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

Among the major exporters, Canon is edging up 0.3 percent, Panasonic is gaining almost 1 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is adding more than 2 percent and Sony is surging more than 5 percent.

Among other major gainers, Sumitomo Pharma is skyrocketing almost 15 percent, Toto is soaring almost 8 percent, NEC is surging more than 6 percent and Tokuyama is advancing almost 5 percent, while Socionext, Fuji Electric and Recruit Holdings are gaining almost 4 percent each. Daiichi Sankyo, Sumitomo Chemical and TDK are adding more than 3 percent each, while Chiba Bank, Nintendo and Chugai Pharmaceutical are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Nikon is plunging almost 9 percent, Kikkoman is slipping almost 7 percent, Oriental Land is declining almost 6 percent and Hitachi is losing almost 4 percent.

In economic news, the value of retail sales in Japan was up 3.1 percent on year in March, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI said on Wednesday - coming in at 14.063 trillion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 3.6 percent and was up from 1.3 percent in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 1.2 percent. For the first quarter of 2025, retail sales were up 2.9 percent on year and 1.5 percent on quarter at 38.970 trillion yen.

The METI also said industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent on month in March. That missed forecasts for a decline of 0.5 percent following the 2.3 percent increase in February. On a yearly basis, industrial production was down 0.3 percent.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it continues to fluctuate indecisively. According to the METI's forecast of industrial production, output is expected to rise 1.3 percent in April and 3.9 percent in May.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 142 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and South Korea are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each, while Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each.

On the Wall Street, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after showing a lack of direction early in the session. With the upward move, the S&P 500 closed higher for the sixth straight session, reaching its best closing level in almost a month.

The major averages ended the day off their highs of the session but still firmly positive. The Dow jumped 300.03 points or 0.8 percent to 40,527.62, the S&P 500 climbed 32.08 points or 0.6 percent to 5,560.83 and the Nasdaq rose 95.18 points or 0.6 percent to 17,461.32.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices moved sharply on Tuesday amid ongoing concerns that a weakening U.S. economy and the U.S.-led trade war with partners will hurt energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery plunged $1.63 or 2.6 percent to $60.42 a barrel.