CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, as traders remain cautious amid the uncertainty about the opening of the Strait of Hormuz even as crude oil prices keep soaring. Traders also await a series of central bank decisions, including from Japan and the U.S. later in the week. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his national security team on Monday discussed Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but it remains unclear whether Trump would accept the proposal.
The Australian stock market is notably lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous five sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,750.00 level, with weakness across most sectors led by mining and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 49.90 points or 0.57 percent to 8,716.50, after hitting a low of 8,714.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 47.10 points or 0.52 percent to 8,943.70. Australian stocks closed modestly lower on Monday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is declining more than 1 percent and BHP Group is losing almost 1 percent, while Fortescue is gaining more than 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly lower. Beach energy is slipping almost 3 percent, Origin Energy is declining more than 2 percent and Woodside Energy is edging down 0.5 percent, while Santos is edging up 0.4 1ercent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block, Xero and WiseTech Global are losing almost 1 percent each, while Appen is slipping more than 1 percent. Zip is advancing almost 2 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Northern Star Resources is down 2.5 percent, Newmont is slipping almost 3 percent and Resolute Mining is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Genesis Minerals and Evolution Mining are losing almost 2 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are losing almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking is edging down 0.1 percent.
In other news, shares in European Lithium are plummeting almost 60 percent after it struck a deal to merge with Nasdaq-listed Critical Metals Corp in a US$835 million (A$1.2 billion) deal, valuing the ASX-listed miner at 58 cents per share, a 137 percent premium to its last close.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.719 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading notably lower on Tuesday, reversing some of the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 60,250 level, with weakness in technology stocks partially offset by gains in exporters and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 60,238.21, down 299.15 points or 0.49 percent, after hitting a low of 60,070.15 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply higher on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.2 percent and Toyota is gaining 1.5 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining more than 5 percent, while Screen Holdings and Tokyo Electron are losing more than 2 percent each.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is advancing almost 3 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are gaining more than 2 percent each.
The major exporters are mostly higher. Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.2 percent, Sony is gaining more than 1 percent and Canon is adding almost 2 percent, while Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the other major losers, Nitto Denko is tumbling almost 7 percent and Hitachi is sliding more than 6 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma and Tokuyama are sliding almost 6 percent each. Renesas Electronics is declining more than 5 percent each. Socionext is losing almost 5 percent and Daiwa Securities are down more than 4 percent, while Fanuc, Lasertec, Astellas Pharma and Fujitsu are falling almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Orix is soaring more than 10 percent, while Taisei and ARCHION are surging almost 7 percent each. Kikkoman and Chugai Pharmaceutical are advancing almost 6 percent each. Fukuoka Financial Group is gaining more than 4 percent, while Shimizu, SHIFT, Kajima, Kioxia Holdings, Obayashi, Chiba Bank and Shiseido are adding almost 4 percent each. Yokohama Financial Group and Kubota are rising more than 3 percent each.
In economic news, the Bank of Japan will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The BoJ is widely expected to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 0.75 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each, while Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan are higher by between 0.4 and 0.6 percent each.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Monday following the strength seen during last Friday's sessions. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the Nasdaq rose 50.50 points or 0.2 percent to 24,887.10 and the S&P 500 inched up 8.83 points or 0.1 percent to 7,173.91, reaching new record closing highs, the Dow edged down 62.92 points or 0.1 percent to 49,167.79.
Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both dipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices soared on Monday after the proposed U.S.-Iran negotiations were called off by the U.S. as supply disruption concerns continue. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $2.32 or 2.46 percent at $96.72 per barrel.
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