Asian Markets Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to be optimistic about the outlook for interest rates following recent dovish comments from leading US Fed officials and weak US manufacturing data. However, the release of key U.S. economic data in the coming days could impact Fed officials' thinking. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 87.6 percent chance the Fed will lower interest rates by another quarter point at its monetary policy meeting next week.

The Australian stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying well above the 8,550 level, with gains in mining, financial and energy partially offset by weakness in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 24.00 points or 0.28 percent to 8,589.20, after touching a high of 8,602.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 18.40 points or 0.21 percent to 8,884.80. Australian stocks closed notably lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Fortescue is adding almost 1 percent. Mineral Resources is edging down 0.2 percent. Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are adding more than 1 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining almost 2 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is losing more than 2 percent, Zip is tumbling almost 9 percent, Appen is down almost 1 percent, Xero is edging down 0.4 percent and WiseTech Global is declining more than 2 percent.

Gold miners are mostly higher. Evolution Mining and Newmont are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each, while Genesis Minerals and Resolute Mining are gaining more than 1 percent each. Northern Star resources is adding almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each, while ANZ Banking is gaining almost 1 percent. Westpac is edging down 0.1 percent.

In economic news, the total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.4 percent on month in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at 15,832. That missed expectations for a decline of 4.3 percent following the downwardly revised 11.1 percent jump in September (originally 12.0 percent).

On a yearly basis, approvals dipped1.8 percent - again shy of expectations for a gain of 12.4 percent following the 14.9 percent jump in the previous month. The value of total residential building fell 11.8 percent to A$9.03 billion, while non-residential building rose 11.6 percent to A$7.13 billion.

Meanwhile, Australia posted a current account deficit of A$16.646 Billion in the third quarter of 2025, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. That missed expectations for a shortfall of A$13.4 billion following the downwardly revised A$16.2 billion deficit (originally -13.7 billion).

The capital and financial account surplus was A$31.062 billion, an increase of A$13.642 billion from the previous quarter. The terms of trade increased 0.3 percent to 95.5, up from 95.2 in Q2. The net primary income deficit decreased to A$18.7 billion, following the A$19.0 billion shortfall in the three months prior.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.654 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving above the 49,450 level, with gains in financial and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in automakers and exporter stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 49,499.06, up 195.78 points or 0.40 percent, after touching a high of 49,636.79 earlier. Japanese shares ended sharply lower on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing more than 2 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is adding almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.5 percent and Toyota is losing more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron, Screen Holdings and Advantest are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are all gaining more than 1 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly lower. Panasonic is losing almost 2 percent, Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent and Sony is edging down 0.1 percent, while Canon is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the other major gainers, Fanuc is jumping more than 8 percent, NGK Insulators is surging almost 6 percent and Yaskawa Electric is gaining more than 4 percent, while Sumitomo Electric Industries and Shizuoka Financial are advancing more than 3 percent each. Lasertec and Sumco are adding almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Isetan Mitsukoshi and BayCurrent are losing almost 4 percent each, while Tokyo Electric Power, Sumitomo Pharma and Mitsui Fudosan are declining almost 3 percent each.

In economic news, the monetary base in Japan was down 8.5 percent on year in November, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday - coming in at 612.686 trillion yen. That was in line with expectations following the upwardly revised 7.8 percent contraction in October (originally -7.9 percent).

Banknotes in circulation were down 2.5 percent on year, while coins in circulation slipped an annual 1.4 percent. Current account balances slumped 9.9 percent on year, including an 8.0 percent drop in reserve balances. The adjusted monetary base was down 7.1 percent on year at 614.655 trillion yen.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 155-yen range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan are up 1.6 and 1.0 percent, respectively. New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are higher by between 0.2 and 0.8 percent each. China is bucking the trend and is down 0.3 percent.

On Wall Street, stocks staged a recovery attempt in mid-day trading on Monday after coming under pressure early in the session, but moved back to the downside as the day progressed. The major averages all finished the session firmly in negative territory.

The Dow slumped 427.09 points or 0.9 percent to 47,289.33, the Nasdaq fell 89.76 points or 0.4 percent to 23,275.92 and the S&P 500 slid 36.46 points or 0.5 percent to 6,812.63.

The major European markets all also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the U.S. dollar came under pressure amid rate cut expectations. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.75 or 1.28 percent at $59.30 per barrel.