Asian Markets Mostly Higher Amid Cautious Trades

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remained cautious ahead of the release of some crucial economic data form the US, including a report on personal income & spending due later in the week. The data will provide clues about the outlook for the US Fed's monetary policy moves. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Tuesday.

Australian shares are trading significantly lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling below the 7,800 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with losses in heavyweight iron ore miners and gold stocks amid tumbling metal prices.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 77.60 points or 0.99 percent to 7,761.20, after hitting a low of 7,750.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 79.20 points or 0.98 percent to 7,997.70. Australian stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Rio Tinto is losing more than 1 percent, and BHP Group is down almost 1 percent, while Mineral Resources and Fortescue Metals are declining almost 2 percent each.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos and Origin Energy are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Beach energy is edging up 0.3 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 1 percent and Zip is declining almost 4 percent, while Xero is gaining almost 1 percent. Appen and WiseTech Global are flat.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is losing almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Newmont and Resolute Mining are losing almost 2 percent each, while Evolution Mining is slipping more than 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is declining 1.5 percent and Northern Star Resources is sliding more than 2 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.667 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 39,700 level, with gains across most sectors led by index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,726.39, up 553.24 points or 1.41 percent, after touching a high of 39,726.39 earlier. Japanese stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is gaining 1.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.1 percent and Toyota is losing almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is surging 6.5 percent, Tokyo Electron is gaining 2.5 percent and Screen Holdings is adding more than 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is adding more than 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Canon and Mitsubishi Electric are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while Sony is gaining more than 1 percent. Panasonic is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among other major gainers, Sumitomo Pharma is surging almost 6 percent, Taisei is adding almost 4 percent and Isetan Mitsukoshi is adding more than 3 percent, while Konami Group, OKUMA and Obayashi are advancing almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 159 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are higher by between 0.2 and 0.7 percent each. China and Singapore are down 0.5 and 0.1 percent, respectively. Hong Kong is relatively flat. On the Wall Street, stocks closed mixed on Tuesday after a cautious session, as investors looked ahead to the release of some crucial U.S. data, including a report on consumer income and spending, for more clarity about the outlook for Federal Reserve's interest rates.

Among the major averages, the Dow settled with a loss of 299.05 points or 0.76 percent, at 39,112.16. The Nasdaq climbed up 220.84 points or 1.26 percent, to 17,717.65, while the S&P 500 ended up by 21.43 points or 0.39 percent, at 5,469.30.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended lower by 0.41 percent, Germany's DAX lost 0.81 percent and France's CAC 40 drifted down 0.58 percent.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders booked some profits ahead of crucial U.S. inflation data due later in the week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down by $0.80 or nearly 1 percent at $80.83 a barrel.