Asian Markets Mostly Lower, Mirrors Global Markets

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, as traders remain concerned about the outlook for interest rates and about how much further the central bank will raise rates ahead of next week's US Fed meeting following recent upbeat economic data. Asian Markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

Top executives from the biggest U.S. banks have warned that stubbornly high inflation could trigger a U.S. economic recession next year. This reflects worries that in order to bring inflation down close to its 2 percent target, the Fed will need to push the economy into a prolonged recession.

The Australian stock market is trading significantly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,200 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by technology, financial and energy stocks. Gold miners were the only bright spot after gold prices spiked.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 51.00 points or 0.70 percent to 7,240.30, after hitting a low of 7,220.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 54.30 points or 0.73 percent to 7,433.40. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, each, Mineral Resources, Rio Tinto and BHP Group are up almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is gaining more than 1 percent and OZ Minerals is edging up 0.3 percent.

Oil stocks are lower. Santos is losing almost 1 percent, Woodside Energy is declining almost 2 percent, Beach energy is plunging almost 7 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Zip and Xero are losing almost 2 percent each, while WiseTech Global is plunging more than 4 percent, Appen is slipping almost 4 percent and Afterpay owner Block is declining more than3 percent.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are losing almost 2 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are declining more than 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Newcrest Mining is edging up 0.3 percent, Evolution Mining is advancing more than 1 percent, Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent and Resolute Mining is gaining 1.5 percent. Northern Star Resources is flat.

In economic news, Australia's gross domestic product expanded 5.9 percent on year in the third quarter of 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That was shy of expectations for an increase of 6.2 percent and up from 3.6 percent in the three months prior. On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP picked up 0.6 percent - again missing forecasts and slowing from 0.9 percent in the previous three months.

The ABS also said the total number of building permits issued in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 6.0 percent on month in Australia, coming in at 15,382. That was in line with expectations following the 8.1 percent decline in September. On a yearly basis, permits slumped 6.4 percent - again matching forecasts following the 12.9 percent drop in the previous month. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved fell 0.2 percent in October, following a 7.1 percent decline in September.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.670 on Wednesday. The Japanese stock market is modestly lower on Wednesday, giving up some of the gains in the previous two sessions, with the Nikkei 225 falling below the 27,800 level, following the broadly negative cues from global markets overnight, with weakness across most sectors, led by technology and exporter stocks. Financial stocks were the only bright spot. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 27,756.94, down 128.93 points or 0.46 percent, after hitting a low of 27,646.78 earlier. Japanese stocks closed modestly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing almost 2 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging up 0.5 percent and Toyota is adding almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is losing almost 3 percent, Screen Holdings is down 1.5 percent and Advantest is declining almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is gaining 1.5 percent, Mizuho Financial is adding more than 1 percent and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is up almost 1 percent.

Among the major exporters, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric are losing almost 1 percent each, while Canon is edging down 0.1 percent and Panasonic is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among the other major losers, CyberAgent is losing almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Fujikura and Taisei are gaining almost 4 percent each, while Kansai Electric Power is adding more than 3 percent. Fukuoka Financial Group and Isetan Mitsukoshi are up almost 3 percent.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 136 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each. Hong Kong and Malaysia are up 0.3 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Tuesday, extending the sell-off seen over the course of Monday's session. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a particularly steep loss.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow slumped 350.76 points or 1.0 percent to 33,596.34, the Nasdaq plunged 225.05 points or 2.0 percent to 11,014.89 and the S&P 500 tumbled 57.58 points or 1.4 percent to 3,941.26.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index slid by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

Crude oil prices dropped to an 11-month low on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand as uncertainty and consequences of a continued Fed tightening weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $2.68 or 3.5 percent at $74.25 a barrel.