Asian Markets Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to be optimistic about the US Fed slowing the pace of interest rate hikes following recent tamer-than-expected US inflation data. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

The positive sentiment comes on the back of comments from Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard that added to optimism about a slower pace of rate hikes. "I think it will probably be appropriate soon to move to a slower pace of rate increases," Brainard told Bloomberg News in a live interview.

The Australian stock market modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,100 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, led by losses in mining and energy stocks amid weaker commodity prices. Traders also remain cautious amid concerns about the outlook for interest rate hikes.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.00 points or 0.22 percent to 7,130.30, after hitting a low of 7,114.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.00 points or 0.23 percent to 7,333.20. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and OZ Minerals are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are declining more than 1 percent each. Mineral Resources is plunging almost 7 percent. Oil stocks are mostly weak. Beach energy is losing almost 2 percent and Woodside Energy is down more than 1 percent, while Santos is edging up 0.1 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Xero is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent, while Zip is losing almost 3 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Gold Road Resources is edging up 0.3 percent, Northern Star Resources is adding more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, while Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.3 percent. Evolution Mining is flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are gaining more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking is edging up 0.3 percent and National Australia Bank is adding almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Incitec Pivot are surging almost 9 percent after the fertilizer maker received multiple potential buyout offers for its ammonia manufacturing facility in the U.S. It also reported a six-fold surge in profit.

In economic news, Members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Monetary Policy Board agreed that inflation continues to be too high, and that further interest rate increases would be necessary, minutes from the bank's Nov. 1 meeting revealed on Tuesday.

The Australian economy continues to grow solidly but could be subjected to downside risks, such as pressure on the global economy, the minutes showed. The members agreed that rate hikes were needed to help establish a better balance between supply and demand. The board also felt it necessary to return inflation to its target range of 2 to 3 percent at the earliest opportunity.

At the meeting, the RBA raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 2.85 percent and repeated the guidance that rates will be lifted further based on incoming data.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.670 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is slightly higher in choppy trading on Tuesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous session, with the Nikkei 225 staying below the 28,000 mark, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight and after domestic GDP data came in lower than expected. Traders also remained cautious amid concerns about the outlook for interest rate hikes.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,994.68, up 31.21 points or 0.11 percent, after hitting a low of 27,903.27 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining more than 1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda and Toyota are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging up 0.2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent. In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining almost 2 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is surging more than 4 percent.

The major exporters are mixed, with Sony losing almost 1 percent and Panasonic edging down 0.5 percent, while Canon is edging up 0.3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is gaining more than 1 percent. Among the other major losers, Recruit Holdings is plummeting almost 10 percent, while Japan Steel Works and Citizen Watch are plunging almost 8 percent each. Dentsu Group is sliding more than 6 percent, SMC is losing more than 4 percent and M3 is declining more than 3 percent, while Toto and Ebara are down almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Eisai is surging almost 6 percent and Taiheiyo Cement is gaining more than 3 percent, while Nippon Paper Industries, Seven & I Holdings, Pacific Metals, Astellas Pharma and Olympus are adding almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, Japan's gross domestic product was down an annualized 1.2 percent on year in the third quarter of 2022, the Cabinet Office said in Tuesday's preliminary reading. That missed expectations for an increase of 1.1 percent following the upwardly revised 4.6 percent expansion in the previous quarter (originally 3.5 percent). On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP fell 0.3 percent - again shy of forecasts for an increase of 0.3 percent following the upwardly revised 1.1 percent growth in the three months prior (originally 0.9 percent).

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 140 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are up 2.7 and 2.1 percent, respectively. China is adding 1.3 percent, while New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia higher by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each. South Korea and Malaysia are down 0.2 and 0.5 percent, respectively. On Wall Street, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday following the substantial upward move seen last week. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing in negative territory.

The major averages came under pressure going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow slid 211.16 points or 0.6 percent to 33,536.70, the Nasdaq tumbled 127.11 points or 1.1 percent to 11,196.22 and the S&P 500 slumped 35.68 points or 0.9 percent to 3,957.25.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand from China, a downward revision in demand growth forecast by OPEC and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $3.09 or 3.5 percent at $85.87 a barrel.