CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Wednesday, following the lackluster cues overnight from Wall Street and as weak commodity prices dragged down resource stocks.
Investors are treading cautiously after better than expected U.S. housing data generated some optimism about the U.S. economy, but also led to an increase in bond yields and renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
The Australian market is marginally lower as weak commodity prices pulled down resource stocks.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index is down 11.70 points or 0.21 percent to 5,603.80, off a low of 5,595.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is losing 8.00 points or 0.14 percent to 5,611.40.
In the mining sector, BHP Billiton (BHP) is losing almost 3 percent, while its spin-off company South32 is down more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO) is lower by more than 2 percent.
Fortescue Metals is down more than 4 percent and BC Iron is losing more than 3 percent after iron ore prices fell for the sixth straight session overnight to a new two-week low.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining is edging down 0.4 percent and Evolution Mining is declining almost 3 percent after gold prices snapped a five-day rally to close lower.
In the banking space, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac (WBK) are lower in a range of 0.2 percent to almost 1 percent.
In the oil space, Woodside Petroleum is losing more than 1 percent, Oil Search is down almost 2 percent and Santos is lower by almost 3 percent following the plunge in crude oil prices.
Boral said its chairman Bob Every will resign from his position at the company's annual general meeting in November and will be succeeded by Brian Clark. The company's shares are gaining 0.6 percent.
On the economic front, the latest survey from Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute revealed that Australian consumer confidence spiked in May, climbing 6.4 percent to a score of 102.4. That follows the 3.2 percent decline to 96.2 in April - and it also marks the first time since February that the index has been above 100, which means that optimists outnumber pessimists.
Later in the day, Australia will also see April numbers for skilled vacancies.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar fell against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday after the greenback was supported overnight by the release of stronger than expected U.S. housing data. In early trades, the local unit was trading at US$0.7914, down from Tuesday's close of US$0.7997.
The Japanese market is higher on hopes of an economic recovery after the country's gross domestic product for the first quarter beat market expectations.
Meanwhile, shares of airbag maker Takata tumbled after the company announced plans to double a recall of vehicles in the U.S. due to its defective air bags.
In late-morning trades, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is adding 127.12 points or 0.63 percent to 20,153.50, off a high of 20,207.10 in early trades.
In the auto sector, Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent, Honda (HMC) is adding 0.8 percent and Nissan is up 0.2 percent.
Shares of Takata Corp are declining more than 8 percent after the Japanese air bag maker said it has agreed to declare nearly 34 million vehicles in the U.S. as defective due to problems with air bag inflators.
Among the major banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MTU) is adding 0.2 percent, Mizuho Finanical is advancing 0.8 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is rising more than 2 percent.
Kyushu Electric Power and Mitsubishi Corp will join hands to build a geothermal power plant in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture by 2029. Shares of Kysuhu Electric are gaining more than 3 percent, while Mitsubishi is down 0.3 percent.
Among the major exporters, Sony Corp. (SNE) is down 0.8 percent and Nikon is lower by almost 1 percent, while Panasonic is gaining 2 percent.
In the tech space, Fanuc is up 0.5 percent and Casio Computer is adding almost 3 percent, while Sharp is down 0.6 percent.
Among the other market heavyweights, mobile carrier Softbank is edging down 0.01 percent. Fast Retailing, the operator of Uniqlo clothing stores, is adding 0.4 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Shiseido Co. is up more than 5 percent, Nisshin Seifun Group is gaining almost 5 percent and Yokohama Rubber is rising more than 3 percent. Meanwhile, Nippon Light Metal is declining more than 2 percent and Mitsui Mining & Smelting is down more than 1 percent.
On the economic front, Japan's gross domestic product climbed 0.6 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2015, the Cabinet Office said in its preliminary reading. That topped expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent, and it was also up from the downwardly revised 0.3 percent rate of growth in the fourth quarter.
On an annualized yearly basis, GDP climbed 2.4 percent - also exceeding forecasts for an increase of 1.6 percent following the downwardly revised 1.5 percent gain in the three months prior.
Japan will also see final March numbers for the leading and coincident indexes.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 120 yen-range on Wednesday, up from Tuesday's close in the upper 119 yen range.
Among other markets in the Asian region, Shanghai, South Korea and Indonesia are trading higher. Meanwhile, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are in negative territory.
On Wall Street, stocks closed roughly flat on Tuesday, but the Dow still reached another new record closing high. Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets and a report from the Commerce Department showing a better-than-expected increase in housing starts in the month of April contributed to the choppy trading.
While the Dow crept up 13.51 points or 0.1 percent to 18,312.39, the Nasdaq dipped 8.41 points or 0.2 percent to 5,070.03 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.37 points or 0.1 percent to 2,127.83.
The major European markets all moved to the upside on Tuesday. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 2.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.
U.S. crude oil plunged to end sharply lower for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, as the dollar soared against some major currencies on comments from European Central Bank officials. This is the lowest close for oil in the month.
Crude oil futures for July delivery, the most actively traded contract, plummeted $2.25 or 3.7 percent to settle at $57.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX