CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, as uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is keeping some traders on the sidelines. Meanwhile, optimism about the AI trade continues to generate positive sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
After hectic discussions for more than a week, the U.S. and Iran were closing in to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Iran is said to be debating and reviewing the draft MoU and is yet to send a response.
Reports suggested that the MoU would pave way for reopening of the Strait of Hormuz immediately and let both the U.S. and Iran to explore ways for resolving bilateral issues over a freshly extended 60-day ceasefire period.
Australian shares are trading notably higher on Wednesday, reversing the slight losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,750 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 52.00 points or 0.60 percent to 8,776.40, after touching a high of 8,779.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 42.70 points or 0.48 percent to 9,008.70. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are adding almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue is gaining almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing more than 1 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Origin Energy is losing almost 1 percent. Beach energy is flat.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, Zip is declining almost 3 percent and Appen is down more than 1 percent, while WiseTech Global and Xero are slipping more than 3 percent each.
Among the big four banks, National Australia bank is edging down 0.2 percent, while Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent, Northern Star Resources is surging more than 5 percent and Newmont are edging up 0.1 percent, while Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.2 percent.
In economic news, the services sector in Australia slipped into the red in May, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 48.7. That's down from 50.7 in April and it falls beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite PMI dropped to 48.7 from 50.4 in the previous month.
Australia's composite PMI was revised higher to 48.7 in May 2026 from 47.8 in the preliminary estimate and down from a final 50.7 in the previous month. It marked the second contraction in three months.
The Ai Group Industry Index for Australia's construction sector rose 9.0 points to -9.9 in May 2026, extending its recent recovery and notching a three-month high.
Australia's Ai Group Industry Index for manufacturing rose 5.1 points to -22.4 in May 2026, a three-month high that signaled modest improvement but left the sector deep in contraction.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.718 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply higher on Wednesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is surging 2.5 percent to above the 68,450 level to fresh all-time highs, with strong gains in automakers and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in index heavyweights.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 68,452.45, up 1,718.21 points or 2.57 percent, after touching a fresh all-time high of 68,473.30 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is declining more than 3 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is surging almost 6 percent and Toyota is gaining almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 4 percent, Screen Holdings is soaring more than 13 percent and Tokyo Electron is surging more than 10 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are all gaining more than 1 percent each.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is gaining almost 2 percent, Canon is adding more than 2 percent and Panasonic is jumping more than 7 percent, while Sony is losing almost 1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Fujikura and Renesas Electronics are jumping more than 10 percent each, while Socionext is soaring almost 10 percent. Resonac Holdings, Komatsu and Nikon are surging more than 7 percent each, while Sumitomo Electric Industries, Japan Exchange Group and Yaskawa Electric are advancing almost 7 percent each. Sumitomo Metal Mining and Kyocera are gaining more than 6 percent each, while Furukawa Electric is adding almost 6 percent.
Conversely, SHIFT is tumbling almost 9 percent and IHI is sliding almost 5 percent, while LY and Otsuka Holdings are slipping more than 4 percent. CyberAgent and Mercari are losing almost 4 percent each, while NEC, Nomura Research Institute, Toho and Fujitsu are declining more than 3 percent each. Sumitomo Pharma is down almost 3 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan is surging 2.0 percent, while Singapore and Malaysia are up 0.8 and 0.5 percent, respectively. New Zealand is down 0.2 percent, while Indonesia and Hong Kong are down 1.7 and 1.3 percent, respectively. China is relatively flat. South Korea is closed for Election Day holiday.
On the Wall Street, stocks were able to shake off early weakness and find modest gains on Tuesday, with each of the three major averages hitting record closing highs for the third day in a row.
The Dow added 228.91 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 51,307.79, while the NASDAQ rose 7.09 points or 003 percent to close at 27,093.90 and the S&P 500 added 9.86 points or 0.13 percent to end at 7,609.82.
The major European markets all also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.77 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.48 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.33 percent.
Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has been delayed. Also, global energy watchdogs warn of accelerating crude oil inventory depletion. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up $1.57 or 1.70 percent at $93.73 per barrel.
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