Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continued to be cautious and look ahead to key U.S. and European inflation readings later in the week and comments from central bank officials for additional clues on the interest rate outlook. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

Traders also were concerned about the economic impact of the indefinite suspension of vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore. Vessel traffic was suspended after a cargo ship crashed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning, leading to the bridge’s collapse.

Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, recouping the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving a tad above the 7,800 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders reacted to domestic inflation data that beat market expectations, and the reading is the lowest since November 2021.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 16.00 points or 0.21 percent to 7,796.20, after touching a high of 7,805.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 12.90 points or 0.16 percent to 8,049.60. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources is gaining almost 1 percent. Fortescue Metals and BHP Group are flat.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent. Santos is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent, Xero is edging down 0.4 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 2 percent and Appen is slipping more than 3 percent. Zip is surging almost 5 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 percent each, while National Australia Bank is edging down 0.3 percent and Westpac are losing almost 2 percent.

Among gold miners, Northern Star Resources, Newmont and Resolute Mining are edging up 0.5 percent each, while Evolution Mining is edging up 0.1 percent. Gold Road Resources is losing almost 2 percent.

In other news, shares in Platinum Asset Management plunged 21 percent on reports the struggling investment firm lost $1.4 billion in mandated funds from an undisclosed client who indicated intend to “rebalance its exposure away from benchmark agnostic global equity managers.”

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.651 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is significantly higher on Wednesday, recouping some of the losses in the previous two sessions, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving a tad above the 40,800 level, with gains across most sectors led by exporters and financial stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 40,804.85, up 406.82 points or 1.01 percent, after touching a high of 40,794.41 earlier. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is flat and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is up more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.1 percent and Screen Holdings is losing almost 2, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.4 percent.

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

Among the major exporters, Sony is edging up 0.1 percent, while Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic and Canon are gaining more than 1 percent each.

Among other major gainers, Resona Holdings is advancing more than 5 percent, while Sumitomo Realty & Development and Tokyo Tatemono are gaining more than 4 percent each. Dai Nippon Printing is adding more than 3 percent, while Suzuki Motor, Tokyu Fudosan, Konami Group and Sharp are up almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Fujikura is losing almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 151 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each, while Taiwan and Singapore are up 0.2 and 0.6 percent, respectively.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw modest strength throughout much of the trading day on Tuesday before coming under pressure in the final hour of the session. The major averages all moved to the downside, finishing the day in negative territory.

After climbing by more than 100 points earlier in the day, the Dow ended the session down 31.31 points or 0.1 percent at 39,282.33. The Nasdaq also fell 68.77 points or 0.4 percent to 16,315.70 and the S&P 500 dipped 14.61 points or 0.3 percent to 5,203.58.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index edged up by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Tuesday with traders assessing oil demand and supply positions amid the tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.33 at $81.62 a barrel.