CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders may be reluctant to continue buying stocks amid lingering concerns about the U.S.-China trade tensions and the ongoing US government shutdown. A lack of major U.S. economic data due in part to the shutdown may also have kept some traders on the sidelines. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.
Traders now look ahead of the release of closely watched US consumer price inflation data on Friday that could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the US Fed's monetary policy meeting next week. They also focus on the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea
Australian shares are trading significantly lower on Wednesday, adding to the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 9,050 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, dragged by tumbling gold mining stocks as bullion prices recorded its biggest intra-day drop in nearly 12 years.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 75.90 points or 0.84 percent to 9,018.80, after hitting a low of 8,998.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 84.60 points or 0.90 percent to 9,305.50. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is losing more than 2 percent, Mineral Resources is tumbling more than 3 percent, Rio Tinto is declining almost 2 percent and Fortescue is down more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mixed. Woodside Energy is gaining more than 4 percent and Beach energy is adding more than 3 percent, while Origin Energy is edging down 0.3 percent and Santos is losing almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are gaining almost 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is down almost 1 percent, Zip is declining almost 3 percent and Appen is losing more than 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Westpac is edging down 0.1 percent, while National Australia bank, ANZ Banking and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are tumbling almost 10 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is slipping almost 11 percent, Resolute Mining is plunging almost 7 percent and Genesis Minerals is sliding more than 10 percent.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Wednesday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 49,100 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks. Automakers were the only bright spot.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,077.56, down 238.50 points or 0.48 percent, after hitting a low of 48,613.70 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is adding more than 3 percent and Toyota is also gaining more than 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 3 percent and Screen Holdings is tumbling almost 5 percent, while Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.4 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric and Sony are edging down 0.2 percent each, while Panasonic is declining almost 1 percent. Canon is edging up 0.5 percent.
Among other major losers, Sumitomo Metal Mining is tumbling more than 6 percent.
Conversely, IHI is surging 5.5 percent, while Taiheiyo Cement and Aeon is gaining more than 5 percent each. Kawasaki Heavy Industries is adding more than 4 percent and Yaskawa Electric is advancing almost 4 percent, while Kajima and Taisei are declining more than 3 percent each. Toray Industries, Japan Steel Works, Ryohin Keikaku, Obayashi, Subaru and Nissan Motor are up almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, Japan posted a merchandise trade deficit of 234.62 billion yen in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. That was well shy of expectations for a surplus of 22.0 billion yen following the 242.6 billion yen shortfall in August.
Exports were up 4.2 percent on year at 9.413 trillion yen, missing forecasts for an increase of 4.6 percent following the 0.1 percent decline in the previous month. Imports were up an annual 3.3 percent at 9.648 trillion yen, exceeding expectations for an increase of 0.6 percent following the 5.2 percent contraction a month earlier.
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, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.1 and 0.5 percent each, while Singapore and South Korea are up 0.1 and 0.3 percent, respectively.
On the Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, although the narrower Dow showed a more significant increase to reach a new record closing high.
The Dow pulled back well off its best levels of the day but still closed up 218.16 points or 0.5 percent to 46,924.74. The S&P 500 crept up 0.22 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 6,735.35, while the Nasdaq dipped 36.88 points or 0.2 percent to 22,953.67.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both closed up by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday as easing U.S.-China trade friction overrode a stronger greenback and excess supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.38 or 0.66 percent at $57.90 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
