CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious ahead of the monetary policy announcement from the US Fed later in the day, though the Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged. They also assessed the increasing tariff uncertainty as well as the escalating U.S.-Iran conflict. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.
While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.
A full-blown U.S-Iran war could deteriorate the global economy, which is already facing severe headwinds.
Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday after opening well in the green, snapping a three-session winning streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,950 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in gold miners and energy stocks amid spiking commodity prices, partially offset by weakness in financial and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 26.30 points or 0.29 percent to 8,915.30, after touching a high of 8,978.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 34.90 points or 0.38 percent to 9,233.60. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group is edging up 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto is gaining more than 1 percent, while Fortescue is down more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is losing almost 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining more than 1 percent and Woodside Energy is advancing more than 2 percent, while Origin Energy and Beach energy are adding almost 1 percent each.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is declining more than 4 percent, Xero is slipping more than 1 percent, WiseTech Global is losing almost 3 percent and Zip is down almost 2 percent, while Appen is edging up 0.5 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking, Westpac and National Australia bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each. Commonwealth Bank is flat.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Resolute Mining is edging up 0.5 percent, Northern Star Resources is advancing almost 4 percent and Newmont is adding almost 1 percent.
In economic news, Australia's annual inflation accelerated to 3.8 percent in December 2025 from 3.4 percent in November, which was the lowest in three months, surpassing market forecasts of 3.6 percent and remaining above the RBA's 2 to 3 percent target.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.699 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Wednesday, reversing the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling well below the 53,050 level, with weakness in index heavyweights, exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 53,029.97, up 803.57 points or 0.57 percent, after hitting a low of 52,788.10 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.5 percent and Toyota is losing almost 3 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is edging down 0.4 percent, while Screen Holdings is adding almost 3 percent and Tokyo Electron is advancing more than 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are losing more than 1 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is flat.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is declining more than 2 percent, Sony is losing almost 2 percent, Panasonic is slipping almost 3 percent and Canon is down almost 1 percent.
Among other major losers, Shin-Etsu Chemical is plunging almost 10 percent, Shin-Etsu Chemical is slipping more than 7 percent and Sumco is tumbling more than 6 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Daiichi Sankyo are losing more than 4 percent each. SHIFT, Mazda Motor and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are declining almost 4 percent each, while Kyowa Kirin, IHI, Isuzu Motors and Sompo Holdings are sliding more than 3 percent each. Seiko Epson is down almost 3 percent.
Conversely, Fujikura and Furukawa Electric are soaring more than 10 percent each, while Sumitomo Electric Industries is surging almost 6 percent and Renesas Electronics is gaining almost 5 percent.
In economic news, members of the Bank of Japan's Monetary Policy Board said that Japan's economy has recovered moderately, although some weakness remains, minutes from the central bank's meeting on Dec. 17-18 revealed on Wednesday.
At the meeting, the BoJ raised its benchmark rate by a quarter-point as inflation remains stubbornly above the target. The policy board decided to hike the uncollateralized overnight call rate to around 0.75 percent from around 0.5 percent. Previously, the BoJ had lifted the benchmark rate by 25 basis points in January.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 152 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia is tumbling 4.4 percent, while New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore are lower by between 0.3 to 0.6 percent each. South Korea is up 1.5 percent, while China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are higher by between 0.3 to 1.1 percent each.
On the Wall Street, stock indexes moved in starkly opposite directions during trading on Tuesday following the upward move seen in the previous session. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 saw further upside, the narrower Dow showed a notable pullback.
The Nasdaq jumped 215.74 points or 0.9 percent to a nearly three-month closing high of 23,817.10, and the S&P 500 climbed 28.37 points or 0.4 percent to a record closing high of 6,978.60. Meanwhile, the Dow ended the day off its worst levels of the session but still closed down 408.99 points or 0.8 percent at 49,003.41.
The major European markets also ended the day narrowly mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday as U.S. naval forces have started building up near Iran, while Lebanese and Yemeni militias have pledged support to Iran, leading to a heightening of tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.61 or 2.66 percent at $62.24 per barrel.
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