CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are mostly lower on Tuesday despite the positive cues overnight from Wall Street reflecting gains by tech stocks and optimism about a new U.S. stimulus bill.
Investors turned cautious ahead of the release of earnings results by major U.S. banks this week and as they digested news that Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine study has been paused due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.
The Australian market is rising for the seventh straight session following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street. Tech stocks and banks are among the major gainers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is advancing 52.80 points or 0.86 percent to 6,184.60, after touching a high of 6,195.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is adding 48.80 points or 0.77 percent to 6,391.90.
In the banking space, ANZ Banking is rising more than 3 percent, Westpac is higher by more than 2 percent, National Australia Bank is advancing almost 2 percent and Commonwealth Bank is adding more than 1 percent.
In the tech sector, Afterpay is gaining more than 3 percent, WiseTech Global is higher by more than 2 percent and Appen is rising almost 1 percent after their U.S. peers gained overnight.
Among the major miners, Fortescue Metals is declining 0.5 percent and BHP Group is lower by 0.2 percent, while Rio Tinto is edging higher by 0.1 percent.
Gold miners are weak even as gold prices edged higher overnight. Evolution Mining is losing 0.4 percent and Newcrest Mining is lower by 0.2 percent.
Oil stocks are also mostly lower after crude oil prices fell overnight. Oil Search is sliding 0.4 percent and Santos is down 0.1 percent, while Woodside Petroleum is advancing almost 1 percent.
The Japanese market is edging lower after a positive start.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index is down 14.96 points or 0.06 percent to 23,543.73, after rising to a high of 23,667.90 in early trades. Japanese stocks closed lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is adding 0.6 percent, while Fast Retailing is down 0.5 percent.
The major exporters are mostly higher despite a stronger yen. Sony is rising almost 2 percent, Canon is advancing more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi Electric is adding 0.3 percent, while Panasonic is down 0.6 percent.
In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is higher by 0.6 percent and Advantest is adding 0.4 percent.
Among iPhone maker Apple's suppliers in Japan, Taiyo Yuden is rising more than 2 percent, while Alps Alpine and Murata Manufacturing are advancing more than 1 percent each, ahead of Apple's expected debut of its latest iPhone later today.
Among banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is up 0.2 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is unchanged. Among automakers, Honda is advancing more than 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.
In the oil sector, Inpex is losing almost 2 percent and Japan Petroleum is lower by 0.3 percent.
Among the other major gainers, Fanuc Corp. is rising more than 4 percent, while Sumco Corp., MS&AD Insurance Group and Yaskawa Electric are higher by more than 2 percent each.
Conversely, Eisai Co. is losing almost 3 percent, Olympus Corp. is declining more than 2 percent, and Shionogi & Co. is lower by almost 2 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 105 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia are also lower, while Singapore and New Zealand are higher. Trading in Hong Kong was suspended due to Typhoon Nangka.
On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply higher on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen over the past few sessions. Technology stocks helped to lead the markets higher. The markets also continued to benefit from optimism about a new stimulus bill even though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said talks will 'remain at an impasse' until 'serious issues' with the Trump administration's latest proposal are resolved.
The Dow advanced 250.62 points or 0.9 percent to 28,837.52, the Nasdaq spiked 296.32 points or 2.6 percent to 11,876.26 and the S&P 500 jumped 57.09 points or 1.6 percent to 3,534.22.
The major European markets also moved mostly to the upside on Monday, with the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both climbing by 0.7 percent. However, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Monday amid concerns over excess supply in the market and worries about a possible drop in energy demand due to rising coronavirus cases. WTI crude for November fell $1.17 or about 2.9 percent at $39.43 a barrel.
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