CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East over the control of Strait of Hormuz that sent crude oil prices spiraling, fueling global inflationary and the possibility of higher interest rates. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Monday.
Following the exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, Tehran responded by attacking Gulf Arab states, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman, further straining the fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
US President Donald Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains open but said he is reinstating the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Iran also announced the closure of the waterway 'until further notice' - a claim U.S. military and maritime authorities rejected.
Trump called on countries benefiting from US efforts to secure the vital shipping route to share the costs.
The Australian stock market is notably lower on Tuesday, after the relatively flat close in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling well below the 8,800 level, with weakness in mining and financial stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 47.90 points or 0.54 percent to 8,760.60, after hitting a low of 8,758.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 50.10 points or 0.56 percent to 8,952.90. Australian stocks closed relatively flat on Monday.
Among the major miners, Fortescue and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Mineral Resources and BHP Group are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy is gaining more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is advancing almost 4 percent, Origin Energy is up more than 1 percent and Santos is adding more than 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing almost 2 percent and Appen is up almost 1 percent, while Zip is losing more than 1 percent and Xero is down almost 1 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Evolution Mining is losing more than 2 percent, Newmont is down almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 2 percent, while Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are slipping more than 3 percent each.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are down almost 1 percent each, while ANZ Banking and Westpac are losing more than 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.692 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday after opening well in the red, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 67,400 level, with by gains in automakers, financial and technology stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 66,678.36, down 564.37 points or 0.84 percent, after hitting a low of 66,268.60 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 2 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 1 percent, Screen Holdings is advancing almost 2 percent and Tokyo Electron is adding almost 1 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.3 percent each, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is advancing almost 1 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent and Panasonic is slipping more than 4 percent, while Sony is gaining almost 2 percent and Canon is adding more than 2 percent..
Among the other major gainers, Sumco is jumping more than 6 percent, while Oriental Land and Dentsu Group are surging almost 5 percent each. Shiseido is advancing more than 4 percent, Eisai is gaining almost 4 percent and Nitto Denko is adding more than 3 percent, while BayCurrent, Kobe Steel and Kuraray are up almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Yaskawa Electric is tumbling almost 8 percent and Fujikura is declining almost 7 percent, while SMC, Ebara, ARCHION, Amada and Furukawa Electric are losing more than 3 percent each. Japan Steel Works and Fanuc are down almost 2 percent each.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 162 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are tumbling 3.3 and 3.1 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Singapore and Hong Kong are lower by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. Malaysia and Indonesia are up 0.5 and 0.7 percent, respectively.
On Wall Street, stocks showed a notable move to the downside during trading on Monday, giving back ground following the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a significant pullback.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Nasdaq slumped 408.43 points or 1.6 percent to 25,873.18 and the S&P 500 slid 60.05 points or 0.8 percent to 7,515.34. The narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, dipping 138.37 points or 0.3 percent to 52,498.64.
Meanwhile, the major European markets finished a choppy trading day slightly higher. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed just above the unchanged line, the German DAX Index crept up by 0.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent.
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday amid intense attacks between the U.S. and Iran over the weekend, renewing Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was up $6.87 or 9.62 percent at $78.28 per barrel.
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