Asian Markets Mostly Lower Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with technology stocks tumbling to mirror their peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Traders also make their moves cautiously ahead of the release of crucial U.S. inflation data later in the day, which could impact the outlook for interest rates. Asian Markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

The rising geopolitical worry amid the face-off between the U.S. and China over Taiwan also continues to weigh on market sentiment.

The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,000 mark, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged down by tumbling technology stocks, which mirrored their peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Traders also remain cautious ahead of the release of crucial U.S. inflation data later in the day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 7.80 points or 0.11 percent to 7,022.00, after hitting a low of 6,985.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 9.90 points or 0.14 percent to 7,268.70. Australian stocks ended slightly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals are edging down 0.2 to 0.3 percent each. Mineral Resources is down more than percent.

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

In the tech space, Xero and Appen are slipping almost 4 percent each, while WiseTech Global is losing 2.5 percent, Afterpay owner Block is plunging more than 6 percent and Zip is down almost 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank is adding more than 1 percent, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 2 percent and Westpac is edging up 0.5 percent. Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent despite reporting a 11 percent jump in annual profit, which topped estimates. Among gold miners, Resolute Mining is losing almost 3 percent, Evolution Mining is down more than 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is slipping almost 1 percent and Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.2 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.2 percent.

In other news, shares in Graincorp are surging almost 7 percent after the agribusiness firm boosted its annual profit forecast for the second time amid soaring prices and demand for grains.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.696 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 27,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged down by tumbling technology stocks, which mirrored their peers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Traders also remain cautious ahead of the release of crucial U.S. inflation data later in the day.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,767.07, down 232.89 points or 0.83 percent, after hitting a low of 27,729.46 earlier. Japanese stocks closed significantly lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining more than 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is slipping more than 3 percent, while Advantest is losing almost 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is down almost 3 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is edging up 0.5 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony is losing 1.5 percent, Canon is gaining almost 1 percent and Panasonic is edging up 0.3 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is flat.

In other news, shares in A2 Milk are plunging more than 8 percent after its hopes of entering the U.S. market was dashed by a decision from a US regulator.

Among the other major losers, Daiwa House Industry and Kobe Steel are losing more than 4 percent each, while Yokogawa Electric is down almost 4 percent. Sumco, Fujitsu, NEXON and M3 are declining more than 3mpercent each, while Trend Micro is slipping almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Mitsubishi Materials is soaring more than 7 percent, Mazda Motor is surging almost 7 percent, Toho Zinc is gaining more than 6 percent and Idemitsu Kosan is adding more than 4 percent and Kirin Holdings is advancing more than 3 percent, while Asahi Group Holdings and Subaru are up almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were up 0.4 percent on month in July, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. That was in line with expectations and down from the upwardly revised 0.9 percent increase in June (originally 0.7 percent). On a yearly basis, producer prices jumped 8.6 percent - exceeding expectations and down from the upwardly revised 9.4 percent in the previous month (originally 9.2 percent).

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 135 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 2.1 percent, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is up 0.4 percent. On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday after ending Monday's trading little changed. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.

The Nasdaq tumbled 150.53 points or 1.2 percent to 12,493.93 and the S&P 500 fell 17.59 points or 0.4 percent to 4,122.47. Meanwhile, the Dow posted a more modest loss, edging down 58.13 points or 0.2 percent to 32,774.41.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index slumped 1.1 percent.

Crude oil futures settled modestly lower Tuesday on concerns about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.26 or 0.3 percent at $90.50 a barrel.