CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mixed on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid continuing uncertainty about the reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting spike in crude oil prices after Tehran indicated the strait will not reopen until its conditions have been met. U.S.-Iran dispute over demands for reparation costs kept Middle East tensions alive. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.
Traders were also looking ahead to the release of a closely watched report on US consumer price inflation later in the day, which is likely to have an impact on the outlook for interest rates at next month's FOMC meeting.
Australian shares are trading modestly lower on Wednesday, reversing the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 9,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in iron ore miners, financial and technology stocks partially offset by gains in gold miner stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 52.30 points or 0.57 percent to 9,198.30, after hitting a low of 9,192.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 47.70 points or 0.51 percent to 9,396.00. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are edging down 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while Fortescue and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each.
Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent and Beach energy is adding almost 2 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos are edging down 0.5 percent each.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing almost 1 percent, while WiseTech Global, Appen, Zip and Xero are declining more than 1 percent each.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking Commonwealth Bank are losing almost 1 percent each, while Westpac and National Australia bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each.
Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are edging up 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Newmont is gaining almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is adding more than 1 percent. Genesis Minerals is edging down 0.1 percent.
In other news, shares in Seek are tumbling more than 14 percent after a jump in profit for the online job advertiser was marred by a $200 million write-down of software-as-a-service investments in its Seek Growth Fund in its full-year result.
Shares in Bravura Solutions are surging almost 15 percent after the financial technology company posted a nearly 50 percent surge in profits in its full-year results.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.706 on Wednesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading slightly higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, extending the sharp gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 67,000 mark, with gains in financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in index heavyweights.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 67,040.18, up 69.96 points or 0.10 percent, after touching a high of 67,144.36 and a low of 66,735.76 earlier. Japanese stocks ended sharply higher on Monday ahead of the holiday on Tuesday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging down 0.4 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 1 percent, while Toyota is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is gaining almost 1 percent, Tokyo Electron is edging up 0.2 percent and Screen Holdings is advancing more than 2 percent.
In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining more than 3 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is adding almost 3 percent and Mizuho Financial is advancing more than 2 percent.
Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is losing more than 1 percent and Canon is edging down 0.4 percent, while Panasonic is gaining more than 1 percent and Sony is edging up 0.1 percent.
Among other major gainers, Yokohama Rubber is soaring more than 10 percent and M3 is jumping more than 8 percent, while Sapporo Holdings and Resonac Holdings are surging almost 5 percent each. Kirin Holdings and Chiba Bank are advancing almost 4 percent each, while Inpex, IHI, Fukuoka Financial and Resona Holdings are gaining more than 3 percent each. Ajinomoto, Asahi Kasei and Secom are adding almost 3 percent each.
Conversely, Rakuten Group is tumbling almost 9 percent, while Nitori Holdings and Sumitomo Metal Mining are declining almost 4 percent each. Fujikura, Toyota Tsusho and Otsuka Holdings are losing more than 3 percent each. Omron, Murata Manufacturing, Lasertec, OKUMA, Amada and Furukawa Electric are down almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, the M2 money stock in Japan was up 2.2 percent on year in July, the Bank of Japan said on Wednesday - coming in at 1,297.0 trillion yen. That was unchanged from the June reading, although it was above forecasts for an increase of 2.1 percent.
The M3 was up 1.4 percent on year at 1,637.2 trillion yen - easing from 1.5 percent in the previous month. The L money stock jumped 4.4 percent to 2,338.4 trillion yen, slowing from 4.5 percent a month earlier.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 159 yen-range on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is up 3.5 percent, while China, Taiwan and Indonesia are higher by between 0.1 and 0.8 percent each. New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore, are lower by between 0.5 and 1.1 percent each. Malaysia is relatively flat.
On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday after showing a lack of direction early in the session. The major averages all moved to the downside, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session.
The major averages finished the day off their lows of the session but still in the red. The Nasdaq slid 159.91 points or 0.6 percent to 26,445.45, the S&P 500 fell 24.91 points or 0.3 percent to 7,728.20 and the Dow declined 184.13 points or 0.3 percent to 53,791.85.
Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slipped by 0.2 percent.
Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday, extending the gains from the two previous sessions as the U.S.-Iran stalemate continues, diminishing hopes for an early reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was up $0.89 or 1.08 percent at $83.02 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
