Asian Markets Mixed Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, as traders remain cautious and reluctant to make significant moves while they await additional news on US debt ceiling negotiations after talks broke down last week. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

Traders also digested comments from a few US Fed officials and assessed the outlook for interest rates. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said that he backed two more increases, while Federal Reserve of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said if the central bank does pause, it should signal tightening isn't over.

President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy are meeting today to discuss raising the federal government's debt ceiling, just 10 days before the United States could face an unprecedented default.

Treasury Secretary Yellen said on Sunday that the likelihood of the Treasury paying all U.S. bills by June 15 is getting smaller each day.

The Australian stock market is modestly higher on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying below the 7,300 level, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, with gains in technology and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in financial stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 18.90 points or 0.26 percent to 7,282.20, after touching a high of 7,262.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 20.10 points or 0.27 percent to 7,470.80. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group, Fortescue Metals and Mineral Resources are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Rio Tinto is gaining more than 1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent, Woodside Energy is up more than 1 percent, Santos is adding almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.5 percent. Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 4 percent, Zip is soaring more than 10 percent and Xero is up almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global and Appen are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.

Gold miners are mixed. Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining are losing more than 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent and Gold Road Resources is adding more than 1 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are edging down 0.4 percent each, while National Australia Bank is losing almost 1 percent. Commonwealth Bank is flat.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to contract in May, and at a steady pace, the latest survey from Judo Bank revealed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 48.0. That's unchanged from the April reading and it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

The survey also showed that the services PMI fell from 53.7 in April to 51.8 in May. The composite index slipped from 53.0 in April to 51.2 in May.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Tuesday, extending the gains in the previous eight sessions, with the Nikkei 225 staying just below the 29,300 level at 33-year highs, following the mixed cues from global markets overnight, boosted by gains from index heavyweights.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 31,286.70, up 199.88 points or 0.64 percent, after touching a high of 31,352.53 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Monday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging down 0.3 percent.

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

The major exporters are mostly weak. Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are losing almost 1 percent each, while Panasonic is edging down 0.3 percent. Canon is edging up 0.4 percent. Among the other major gainers, Nippon Paper Industries is soaring more than 10 percent, while Recruit Holdings and Trend Micro are gaining more than 4 percent each. Japan Steel Works is adding almost 4 percent, while M3, JGC Holdings and Yamaha Motor are up more than 3 percent each, while Taisei, Renesas Electronics, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Credit Saison are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major losers.

In economic news, the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to expand in May, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed on Tuesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 50.8. That's up from 49.5 in April and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the services PMI rose from 55.4 in April to 56.3 in May.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 138 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each, while Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia are higher by between 0.4 and 0.6 percent each. Taiwan is relatively flat. On the Wall Street, stocks turned in a mixed performance on Monday with technology shares outperforming the broad market. Investors largely refrained from making significant moves as they awaited updates on debt ceiling negotiations.

The major averages closed mixed. The Dow slipped after a slightly positive start but stayed weak right through the session and ended with a loss of 140.05 points or 0.42 percent at 33.286.58. The S&P 500 settled at 4,192.63, up 0.65 points or 0.02 percent, while the Nasdaq climbed 62.88 points or 0.5 percent to 12,720.78.

The major European markets also ended mixed with investors largely making cautious moves, focusing on U.S. debt ceiling talks. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.18 percent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 shed 0.32 percent and 0.18 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices pared early losses and settled higher on Monday, amid hopes the U.S. lawmakers will reach a debt ceiling deal soon and help the nation avoid a default. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June settled at $71.99 a barrel, up $0.44 or 0.6 percent on the expiration day.