Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are concerned about more aggressive monetary policy moves by the US Fed after data showed an unexpected acceleration in U.S. services sector activity in the month of November. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

Already, recent strong U.S. jobs data had triggered speculation the US central bank will continue with its aggressive rate hikes.

While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to slow the pace of interest rate hikes next week, continued labor market tightness and elevated inflation may still lead the central bank to raise rates higher than currently anticipated.

The Australian stock market slightly lower on Tuesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,300 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, led by weakness in resources and energy stocks amid a dip in commodity prices. Technology stocks also fell, even as traders braced for the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy decision later in the day

The RBA is widely expected to deliver another modest 25 basis point rate hike as domestic inflation trended lower.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 8.50 points or 0.12 percent to 7,317.10, after hitting a low of 7,283.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 13.70 points or 0.18 percent to 7,514.10. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and OZ Minerals are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing almost 3 percent and Fortescue Metals is down more than 1 percent. Rio Tinto is edging up 0.1 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is losing 4.5 percent and Santos is down more than 1 percent, while Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 5 percent, Xero is slipping more than 3 percent and WiseTech Global are down almost 2 percent, while Zip and Appen are declining almost 3 percenteach.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources, Gold Road Resources and Newcrest Mining are losing almost 3 percent each, while Resolute Mining is declining almost 4 percent and Evolution Mining is down more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each. In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.671 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is modestly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, extending the slight gains in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying just below the 27,900 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with the index alternating between the red and green as traders are making cautious trades amid concerns the US Fed will maintain the pace of interest rate hikes following release of data that showed better-than-expected US services activity.

Domestic data released today also showed that showing household spending in Japan rose the least in five months, while real wages fell to an over seven-year low.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,902.11, up 81.71 points or 0.29 percent, after touching a high of 27,877.63 and a low of 27,698.31 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly higher on Monday.

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

In the tech space, Advantest and Screen Holdings are gaining 1.5 percent each, while Tokyo Electron is adding almost 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower, with Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Sony losing almost 1 percent. Canon is gaining more than 1 percent. Among the other major losers, CyberAgent and M3 are losing more than 3 percent each, while Eisai and Nippon Sheet Glass are declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, NTN is gaining more than 4 percent, while Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Mazda Motor are adding almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 136 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.2 and 0.9 percent each. China is bucking the trend and is up 0.3 percent. On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session on Monday after ending last Friday's trading narrowly mixed. The major averages came under pressure in early trading and saw further downside as the day progressed.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 482.78 points or 1.4 percent to 33,947.10, the Nasdaq dove 221.56 points or 1.9 percent to 11,239.94 and the S&P 500 tumbled 72.86 points or 1.8 percent to 3,998.84.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Monday as strong U.S. service data raised the prospects for more aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for January ended lower by $3.05 or 3.8 percent at $76.93 a barrel.