Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders continue to be cautious and are not willing to take any significant positions ahead of monetary policy announcement by the US Fed tomorrow. With the Fed widely expected to lower interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the likelihood of further rate cuts next year. Asian markets closed mixed on Monday.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.4 percent chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point on Wednesday but a 60.5 percent chance the central bank will leave rates unchanged in January. The Australian stock market is trading modestly lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous session, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is falling to near the 8,600 level, with a mixed performance across most sectors ahead of the domestic interest rate decision later in the day.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 16.00 points or 0.19 percent to 8,608.40, after hitting a low of 8,484.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 17.50 points or 0.20 percent to 8,897.50. Australian stocks closed slightly lower on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is edging up 0.4 percent. BHP Group is flat. Oil stocks are mostly lower. Woodside Energy and Santos are losing almost 1 percent each, while Beach energy is down more than 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block is edging down 0.1 percent, while Appen and Zip is losing almost 1 percent each. Xero is gaining almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is edging up 0.4 percent.

Gold miners are mixed. Evolution Mining and Newmont are edging up 0.1 percent each, while Genesis Minerals and Northern Star resources are edging down 0.4 to 0.5 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing almost 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is down almost 1 percent, ANZ Banking is edging down 0.5 percent and Westpac is losing more than 1 percent, while National Australia Bank is gaining almost 1 percent.

In other news, shares in Bapcor are tumbling almost 19 percent after cutting its first-half earnings guidance and narrowing in its full-year outlook for 2026, citing weaker-than-expected trading performance in October and November, as price cuts in its trade division hit margins.

Shares in Immutep are skyrocketing more than 27 percent following a strategic collaboration and exclusive licensing agreement with Dr. Reddy's for their Eftilagimod Alfa (efti) cancer treatment.

In economic news, the Reserve Bank of Australia will wrap up its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and then announce its decision on interest rates. The RBA is widely expected to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 3.60 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.663 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading modestly higher on Tuesday after opening in the green and slipping in to the red briefly, adding to the gains in the previous session, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is moving well above the 50,650 level, with a mixed performance across most other sectors.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 50,688.20, up 106.26 points or 0.21 percent, after hitting a low of 50,417.11 earlier. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is losing almost 1 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is down more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is edging down 0.3 percent and Toyota is also edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Tokyo Electron is gaining almost 2 percent and Screen Holdings is adding almost 1 percent, while Advantest is edging down 0.3 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.2 percent, while Mitsubishi UFJ Financial and Mizuho Financial are edging up 0.2 to 0.3 percent each.

The major exporters are mostly higher. Panasonic and Sony are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Canon is adding more than 2 percent. Mitsubishi Electric is down more than 1 percent.

Among the other major losers, Sumitomo Pharma is losing more than 3 percent and BayCurrent is declining almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Konica Minolta is jumping almost 6 percent, Disco is surging almost 5 percent, Tokyo Electric Power is gaining more than 4 percent and Kawasaki Heavy Industries is advancing more than 3 percent, while Shionogi and Renesas Electronics are adding almost 3 percent each.

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

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.1 and 0.6 percent each, while Singapore and Indonesia are up 0.2 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

On Wall Street, stocks moved to the upside at the start of trading on Monday but moved lower over the course of the trading session. The major averages pulled back off their early highs and into negative territory.

The major averages staged a short-lived recovery attempt in mid-day trading but all ended the day in the red. The Dow fell 215.67 points or 0.5 percent to 47,739.32, the Nasdaq edged down 32.22 points or 0.1 percent to 23,545.90 and the S&P 500 decreased 23.89 points or 0.4 percent to 6,846.51.

Meanwhile, the major European market indexes ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday as the U.S. dollar strengthened ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which has largely been priced in. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down $1.28 or 2.13 percent at $58.80 per barrel.