Asian Markets Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain cautious and worried the US debt ceiling deal is likely to face opposition from some Republicans who were seeking bigger spending cuts, potentially prolonging the process of passing the bill. Asian markets closed mixed on Tuesday.

The agreement in principle will raise the debt ceiling for two years and keep non-defense spending roughly flat for fiscal 2024 and increase it by 1 percent in fiscal year. The deal will be sent to the full House for a vote, likely to take place later in the day.

The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 7,200 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in energy and mining stocks amid tumbling commodity prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 89.70 points or 1.24 percent to 7,119.60, after hitting a low of 7,113.30 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 90.90 points or 1.23 percent to 7,296.40. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, Fortescue Metals is losing almost 2 percent and BHP Group is declining 1.5 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are down more than 1 percent each. Oil stocks are lower. Beach energy is declining more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is losing more than 2 percent and Santos is down 1.5 percent, while Origin Energy is flat.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are declining more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global and Xero are adding almost 1 percent each. Appen is soaring more than 9 percent.

Among the big four banks, Westpac, ANZ Banking and National Australia Bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Commonwealth Bank is losing almost 1 percent.

Among gold miners, Gold Road Resources is losing almost 2 percent and Evolution Mining is down almost 1 percent, while Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining are edging down 0.2 to 0.5 percent each. Resolute Mining is flat.

In economic news, the total value of construction work done in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent on quarter in the first quarter of 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - coming in at A$57.686 billion. That beat forecasts for an increase of 1.5 percent following the 0.3 percent contraction in the three months prior. On a yearly basis, construction work done improved 5.1 percent.

Private sector credit in Australia was up 0.6 percent on month in April, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Wednesday - accelerating from 0.2 percent in March. On a yearly basis, credit climbed 6.6 percent.

Housing credit was up 0.3 percent on month and 5.2 percent on year, while personal credit rose 0.1 percent on month and fell 0.3 percent on year and business credit jumped 1.1 percent on month and 10.6 percent on year. Broad money added 0.4 percent on month and 6.5 percent on year.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.650 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is sharply lower on Wednesday, snapping the four-session winning streak, with the Nikkei 225 falling well below the 30,000 mark and off the recent 33-year highs, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with traders continuing to booking profits after the recent surge in the markets. Traders also reacted to some mixed data on retail sales and industrial production.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 30,976.54, down 351.62 points or 1.12 percent, after hitting a low of 30,928.88 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.4 percent, while Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is declining more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing 1.5 percent and Toyota is down more than 1 percent.

In the tech space, Screen Holdings is gaining more than 1 percent, while Advantest is losing more than 1 percent and Tokyo Electron are edging down 0.2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging up 0.3 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Sony is losing almost 1 percent, while Canon and Panasonic are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Mitsubishi Electric is flat.

Among other major losers, Resonac Holdings and Yamaha are losing more than 3 percent each, while Tokuyama, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Sharp and Marubeni are all declining almost 3 percent each.

Conversely, Hino Motors is soaring more than 12 percent.

In economic news, the total value of retail sales in Japan was up 5.0 percent on year in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or METI said on Wednesday - coming in at 13,207 billion yen. That missed expectations for an increase of 5.8 percent following the 6.9 percent gain in March.

The METI also said Industrial production in Japan was down a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in April, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday. That missed expectations for an increase of 0.5 percent following the 1.1 percent gain in March. On a yearly basis, industrial output fell 0.3 percent after slipping 0.6 percent in the previous month.

Upon the release of the data, the METI maintained its assessment of industrial production, saying that it shows signs of increase at a moderate pace. According to the METI's forecast of industrial production, output is expected to rise 1.9 percent on month in May and 1.2 percent in June.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the higher 139 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 2.2 percent, while New Zealand, China, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.9 percent each. On Wall Street, stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as the mood turned cautious around mid-afternoon with investors awaiting the passage of the debt ceiling deal. Stocks, particularly from the technology section, started off on a firm note, although the broad market, however, was somewhat sluggish.

The major averages ended mixed. The Dow ended with a modest loss of 50.56 points or 0.15 percent at 33,042.78 and the S&P 500 settled at 4,205.52, little changed from the previous close, while the Nasdaq ended up 41.74 points or 0.32 percent at 13,017.43.

The major European markets ended notably lower as investors stayed cautious, awaiting the passage of the U.S. debt ceiling deal. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 1.38 percent, Germany's DAX ended lower by 0.27 percent, and France's CAC 40 fell 1.29 percent.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, weighed down by doubts about China's economic recovery and uncertainty over whether the Congress will pass the debt deal this week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $3.21 or 4.4 percent at $69.46 a barrel.