Asian Markets Mixed In Holiday Trading

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders are reluctant to make any significant moves with most of the major markets in the region are closed for Lunar New Year holidays. They also remain cautious ahead of the monetary policy announcements from the Bank of Canada, the US Fed and the European Central Bank later in the week. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.

There has been a sell-off in the tech shares after China's low-cost startup DeepSeek's AI Assistant overtook rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple's App Store in the U.S., sparking fears that U.S. AI leaders could lose their dominance.

The Australian stock market is trading relatively flat on Tuesday, after the gains in the previous session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is staying above the 8,400.00 level, with gains in iron ore miners and financial stocks partially offset by weakness in gold miners, energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 3.50 points or 0.04 percent to 8,412.40, after touching a high of 8,427.10 and a low of 8,386.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 3.10 points or 0.04 percent to 8,657.30. Australian stocks closed modestly higher on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Origin Energy is losing almost 2 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each. Beach energy is edging up 0.1 percent.

Among tech stocks, Zip and WiseTech Global are losing more than 1 percent each, while Appen is declining 3.5 percent. Xero is gaining almost 1 percent. Afterpay owner Block is flat.

Gold miners are mostly lower. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 5 percent, Newmont is down almost 1 percent, Northern Star resources is declining 2.5 percent and Evolution Mining is edging down 0.5 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

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

In other news, shares in Nuix are plummeting almost 17 percent after the software provider said it would post a drop in underlying earnings in the half-year to December, hurt by project delays and acceptance of more complex contracts.

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals are surging more than 4 percent after completing its buyout of US-listed RLS Radiopharmacies for $230 million.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.626 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 falling to remain a tad above the 38,100 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks. Financial stocks were the only bright spot.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,340.15, down 225.65 points or 0.57 percent, after hitting a low of 38,886.05 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 6 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.5 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is tumbling more than 9 percent, Tokyo Electron is losing more than 5 percent and Screen Holdings is declining 3.5 percent.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is gaining more than 1 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding almost 2 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is up more than 1 percent.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic and Mitsubishi Electric are losing more than 1 percent each, while Canon is down almost 1 percent. Sony is edging up 0.3 percent.

Among the other major losers, Japan Steel Works is tumbling more than 9 percent, while Furukawa Electric and Fujikura are sliding more than 7 percent each. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is slipping almost 7 percent and Disco is declining more than 6 percent, while Fuji Electric and Socionext are down almost 6 percent each. Resonac Holdings and Hitachi are losing more than 4 percent each, while NTT Data Group is falling almost 5 percent, while Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Sumitomo Electric Industries are slipping more than 4 percent each.

Conversely, Hitachi Construction Machinery is surging almost 7 percent, while Keisei Electric Railway and Kubota are advancing more than 3 percent each. Nitori Holdings and Mitsui Fudosan are gaining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and Singapore are up 0.1 and 0.7 percent, respectively, while New Zealand and Malaysia are down 0.5 percent each. Markets in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. On Wall Street, stocks closed mostly lower on Monday, with those in the technology sector recording more pronounced losses, due to sustained selling pressure right through the day's trading session.

Among the major averages, the Dow closed up 289.33 points or 0.65 percent, at 44,713.58. The S&P 500 ended down 88.96 points or 1.46 percent, at 6,012.28, while the Nasdaq settled with a loss of 612.47 points or 3.07 percent, at 19,341.83.

The major European markets were mixed on the day. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed down 0.53 percent and 0.27 percent, respectively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 0.02 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday amid concerns about tariff threats and uncertainty about U.S. trade policy. Also, weak manufacturing data from China has raised concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March closed down $1.49 or 2 percent at $73.17 a barrel.