CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, on spiking crude oil prices and supply concerns amid continued escalation in the Middle East conflict in violation of the Russia-Ukraine 'energy ceasefire.' Technology and semiconductor stocks are taking a hit amid mounting concerns over AI valuations and Chinese competition. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.
There have been fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia's aviation infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants and a drone strike on a tanker near the Sohar anchorage off Oman. Saudi Arabia has extended the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
The US administration is under growing pressure to assist Saudi Arabia in its fight against Houthi militants in Yemen following a series of missile and drone strikes on Riyadh's main airport.
Russian strikes also hit energy infrastructure across Ukraine shortly after a declared energy ceasefire, shaking risk-asset appetite.
Traders are also reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key US inflation data on Wednesday, which may have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Ahead of the release of the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 80.6 percent chance the US Fed will leave interest rates unchanged after last month's quarter point rate hike.
The Australian stock market is modestly lower on Tuesday, reversing the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed 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 technology stocks partially offset by gains in financial and energy stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 14.70 points or 0.17 percent to 8,768.50, after hitting a low of 8,738.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 23.30 points or 0.26 percent to 8,913.70. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Monday.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources are declining almost 3 percent each, while BHP Group and Fortescue are losing almost 2 percent each.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Beach energy and Origin Energy are gaining more than 2 percent each, while Santos is advancing more than 3 percent and Woodside Energy is adding almost 2 percent.
Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Xero are losing more than 1 percent each, while Zip is slipping more than 4 percent, WiseTech Global is declining more than 3 percent and Appen is sliding almost 4 percent.
Gold miners are mostly lower. Newmont and Northern Star Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Evolution Mining is declining almost 2 percent, Resolute Mining is slipping more than 3 percent and Genesis Minerals is sliding almost 3 percent.
Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is edging up 0.4 percent, while Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent.
In other news, shares in Cettire are jumping almost 12 percent on news that Israeli hedge fund UDN Eden Management took a major stake in the beleaguered luxury goods seller.
Shares in RAIZ Invest Ltd. are plunging 33 percent after the fintech company disclosed compliance and tax reporting failures to the market.
In economic news, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's September meeting showed that policymakers unanimously raised the cash rate by 25bps to 4.6 percent, citing persistent inflation risks. The meeting record also indicated that further rate hikes remained possible. Meanwhile, inflation readings exceeded expectations, with businesses reporting widespread cost pass-throughs. Short-term expectations stayed high, raising concern about medium-term drift.
Australia's NAB Business Confidence Index fell to -13 in September 2026 from a revised -9 in the previous month, marking its lowest reading since May and the seventh consecutive month of negative sentiment. The index remained well below its long-run average. The continued deterioration in sentiment suggests business conditions could weaken further, the survey said.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.696 on Tuesday.
The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous three sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with the Nikkei 225 tumbling 2.5 percent to below the 67,300 level, with weakness in technology partially offset by gains in automakers and financial stocks.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 67,292.39, down 1,738.53 points or 2.52 percent, after hitting a low of 67,058.56 earlier. Japanese shares ended slightly lower on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.
Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling almost 9 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is gaining almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is gaining almost 1 percent and Toyota is adding almost 2 percent.
In the tech space, Advantest is declining almost 5 percent, Screen Holdings is sliding almost 6 percent and Tokyo Electron is tumbling almost 6 percent.
In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Mizuho Financial is adding more than 1 percent.
The major exporters are mixed. Mitsubishi Electric is edging down 0.3 percent and Panasonic is losing more than 1 percent, while Sony and Canon are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.
Among the other major losers, Kioxia Holdings is plunging almost 12 percent and Taiyo Yuden is sliding more than 8 percent, while Kokusai Electric, Ibiden and Sumco are slipping more than 7 percent each. Socionext is declining almost 7 percent, while Resonac Holdings, Fujikura and TDK are losing almost 6 percent each. Furukawa Electric is down more than 5 percent, while Renesas Electronics and Mitsui Kinzoku are slipping almost 5 percent each.
Conversely, OKUMA is advancing more than 3 percent, while Dai-ichi Life, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Nippon Express are gaining almost 3 percent each.
In economic news, producer prices in Japan were down a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent on month in September, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday. That was well shy of expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent following the downwardly revised 0.3 percent contraction in August (originally -0.2 percent). On a yearly basis, producer prices climbed 6.8 percent - again missing forecasts for an increase of 7.6 percent, which would have been unchanged
The Bank of Japan also said the total value of overall bank lending in Japan was up 5.3 percent on year in September, coming in at 681.974 trillion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 5.5 percent and was unchanged from the August reading. For the third quarter of 2026, overall lending was up 5.4 percent.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 158 yen-range on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are down 5.9 and 2.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 1.0 percent each. Singapore is bucking the trend and is up 0.1 percent.
On Wall Street, stocks turned in a lackluster performance during trading on Monday after ending last week's trading on an upbeat note. The major averages moved in opposite directions, eventually ending the day mixed.
While the Dow rose 195.60 points or 0.4 percent to 51,850.55, the S&P 500 edged down 4.30 points or 0.1 percent to 7,807.24 and the Nasdaq fell 120.27 points or 0.4 percent to 27,245.90.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1 percent, the German DAX Index increased by 0.8 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
Crude oil prices moved sharply higher day on Monday in the wake of fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia's aviation infrastructure by Iran-backed Houthi militants. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery jumped $2.42 or 2.6 percent to $94.27 a barrel.
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