CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid renewed uncertainty among various nations trading with the US, many of which have concluded tariff deals, after a US Federal Appeals Court ruled that President Donald Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' are illegal. Traders are also betting high on an interest rate cut by the US Fed later this month. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
Australian shares are trading sharply lower on Wednesday, adding to the losses in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,900 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in mining stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 113.60 points or 1.28 percent to 8,787.00, after hitting a low of 8,786.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 108.80 points or 1.19 percent to 9,059.20. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.5 percent each, while Fortescue is edging up 0.1 percent.
Oil stocks are lower. Woodside Energy and Beach energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Santos is losing almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is declining more than 3 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is declining almost 5 percent, Xero is sliding almost 6 percent, WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent, Appen is slipping more than 1 percent and Zip is down almost 2 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking and National Australia bank are losing almost 2 percent each, while Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are declining almost 3 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is edging down 0.3 percent, Resolute Mining is losing more than 1 percent and Newmont is slipping almost 1 percent, while Gold Road Resources is gaining almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 2 percent..
In economic news, the Australian economy grew 0.6 percent on quarter in the second quarter of 2025, accelerating from an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in the second quarter and topping market consensus of 0.5 percent. This was the 15th straight quarterly rise, driven by domestic final demand. On a yearly basis, the GDP grew 1.8 percent, above forecasts of 1.6 percent and the fastest pace since third quarter of 2023.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.652 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading modestly lower on Wednesday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 42,300 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporter stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 42,186.59, down 123.90 points or 0.29 percent, after hitting a low of 42,036.99 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is slipping almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent, while Toyota is edging up 0.2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing more than 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging down 0.5 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is slipping 1.5 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining almost 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Canon is adding almost 1 percent, while Panasonic and Sony are gaining more than 1 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.1 percent.
Among other major losers, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is declining almost 4 percent.
Conversely, Yokohama Rubber is gaining almost 4 percent and Sumitomo Metal Mining is advancing more than 3 percent, while Socionext and Yamaha Motor are adding almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 148 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong and Singapore are lower by between 0.3 and 0.7 percent each. Indonesia is up 1.0 percent, while South Korea Malaysia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.4 percent each.
On the Wall Street, stocks regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Tuesday but remained firmly negative after initially showing a significant move to the downside. The major averages all moved notably lower, extending the pullback seen during last Friday's session.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq slumped 175.92 points or 0.8 percent to 21,279.63 but had tumbled by as much as 1.5 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 slid 44.72 points or 0.7 percent to 6,415.54, while the Dow fell 249.07 points or 0.6 percent to 42,295.81.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plunged by 2.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.7 percent.
Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday on concerns about supply disruptions increased following strikes on Russian energy sites by Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.51 or 2.36 percent at $65.52 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
