CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as surging crude oil prices led to a sustained acceleration in the pace of inflation and continued to drive global bond yields higher, increasing the possibility of an interest rate hike in the coming months to combat inflation. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 41.9 percent chance rates will be a quarter point higher following the US Fed's last monetary policy meeting of the year.
While concerns of renewed escalation in the Middle East war increased, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that Iran had offered a 14-point resolution draft proposal aimed at ending the war and building trust. The U.S. administration has delayed responding to proposal submitted by Iran while uncertainty surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz continues to linger.
Australian shares are trading notably lower on Wednesday, reversing some of the sharp gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 8,550 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in mining and financial stocks partially offset by gains in technology and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 73.20 points or 0.85 percent to 8,531.50, after hitting a low of 8,518.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 74.80 points or 0.85 percent to 8,754.70. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are declining almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue is losing almost 1 percent. Mineral Resources is adding 1.5 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy, Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing more than 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, while Zip is gaining almost 1 percent, WiseTech Global is adding more than 1 percent and Xero is edging up 0.5 percent. Appen is flat.
Among the big four banks, National Australia bank and Westpac are losing more than 1 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent and ANZ Banking is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining and Newmont are declining more than 3 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is down almost 2 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 4 percent.
In other news, shares in Electro Optic Systems are plunging more than 9 percent after it raised $150 million at $8 per share through an institutional raising. It also revealed a further $40 million strategic placement from defence-focused investors.
Shares in Catapult Sports are soaring almost 19 percent after the sports technology company reported upbeat results for the full-year 2026.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.710 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading significantly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous four sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 59,850 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors as global bond yields climbed sharply amid mounting inflation concerns related to the Middle East war.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 59,764.16, down 786.43 points or 1.30 percent, after hitting a low of 59,292.25 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling more than 5 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.3 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging up 0.2 percent, while Tokyo Electron is losing almost 3 percent.
In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial is gaining almost 1 percent, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing more than 1 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is tumbling more than 5 percent, Sony is losing almost 3 percent and Panasonic is declining almost 4 percent, while Canon is edging up 0.1 percent.
Among other major losers, OKUMA is tumbling almost 9 percent, Fujikura is sliding almost 6 percent and Sharp is slipping more than 5 percent, while SMC, Taisei and Toto are declining almost 5 percent each. Mitsubishi Materials and Sumitomo Realty & Development are losing more than 4 percent each, while Tokyo Electric Power, Kajima, Shimizu and Sumitomo Chemical are declining almost 4 percent each.
Conversely, UBE is skyrocketing almost 19 percent and Ryohin Keikaku is advancing more than 3 percent, while Nitori Holdings and NTN are gaining almost 3 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 158 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are lower by between 0.4 and 0.9 percent each. South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.3 and 0.7 percent each.
On the Wall Street, the major U.S. stock indexes all moved to lower during trading on Tuesday following the mixed performance seen in the previous session. Stocks staged a recovery attempt in early afternoon trading but moved back to the downside going into the end of the day.
The major averages all finished the day firmly in negative territory. The Nasdaq slid 220.02 points or 0.8 percent to 25,870.71, the S&P 500 fell 49.44 points or 0.7 percent to 7,353.61 and the Dow declined 322.24 points or 0.7 percent to 49,363.88.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.1 and the German DAX Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices took a breather on Tuesday following news the U.S. is halting its planned attacks on Iran, although the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was down $0.07 or 0.1 percent at $108.59 per barrel.
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