Asian Markets Mixed Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid the rising uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies and the outlook for inflation and economic growth due to the ongoing trade war. Traders also look to pick up some stocks at reduced levels following the recent slump in the markets. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

Traders now await key U.S. reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations later in the week for further direction.

The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness across most sectors led by iron ore miners and financial stocks. Gold stocks were the only bright spot.

The White House overnight confirmed that Australia would not be exempt from 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminium exports to the US due to start later in the day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 100.00 points or 1.27 percent to 7,790.10, after hitting a low of 7,733.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 96.40 points or 1.19 percent to 8,007.00. Australian stocks ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are losing more than 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent and Mineral Resources is edging down 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy is losing more than 1 percent and Beach energy is declining almost 2 percent, while Santos and Origin Energy are gaining almost 1 percent each.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is edging up 0.2 percent and Appen is up almost 1 percent. WiseTech Global and Xero are losing more than 1 percent each, while Zip is declining more than 3 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is losing more than 1 percent, while ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia Bank are declining almost 2 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are advancing almost 2 percent each, while Gold Road Resources is adding more than 1 percent and Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent. Northern Star Resources is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.629 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Wednesday, reversing some of the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving up to near the 36,900 level, with gains in exporters and financial stocks partially offset by some gains in automaker stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 36,898.83, up 105.72 points or 0.29 percent, after hitting a low of 36,658.86 earlier. Japanese stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.1 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing almost 2 percent, while Screen Holdings is adding almost 4 percent and Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Canon is losing almost 1 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 4 percent, Panasonic is up almost 3 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is surging more than 5 percent.

Among other major gainers, LY Corp is surging more than 6 percent and Concordia Financial Group is gaining almost 5 percent, while Shizuoka Financial Group, Resona Holdings and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are adding more than 4 percent each. Ryohin Keikaku, Tokyo Gas and CyberAgent is up almost 4 percent each, while T&D Holdings, Hitachi, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Fujitsu are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Subaru and Lasertec are losing more than 4 percent each, while Yokogawa Electric is declining more than 3 percent and Sumitomo Heavy Industries is down almost 3 percent.

In economic news, producer prices in Japan were flat on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday. That beat forecasts for a decline of 0.1 percent and was down from 0.3 percent in January.

On a yearly basis, producer prices rose 4.0 percent - in line with forecasts and easing from 4.2 percent in the previous month. The export price index was up 0.5 percent on month and 1.2 percent on year, the central bank said, while the import price index added 0.5 percent on month and sank 1.6 percent on year.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 148 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore is up 0.3 percent, while South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 1.2 to 1.6 percent each. China and Hong Kong are down 0.3 percent each, while New Zealand and Malaysia are down 1.0 and 0.7 percent, respectively.

On the Wall Street, stocks closed on a negative note on Tuesday after a highly volatile session, and the major averages all closed in the red despite a good recovery past mid-afternoon. Worries about global economic outlook and fears of a possible recession in the U.S. due to the trade war hurt investor sentiment.

The Dow settled lower by 478.23 points or 1.14 percent, at 41,433.48, the S&P 500 ended down 42.49 points or 0.76 percent, at 5,572.07 and the Nasdaq settled lower by 32.23 points or 0.18 percent, at 17,436.10. The Nasdaq climbed to 17,687.40 in the final hour, rallying from a low of 17,238.24.

The major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.21 percent, Germany's DAX closed down 1.29 percent and France's CAC 40 settled lower by 1.31 percent.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Tuesday, bouncing back fairly well on a weaker dollar after dropping to six-month lows in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April added $0.22 or 0.3 percent at $66.25 a barrel.