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, with major markets in the region, China, Japan and South Korea closed, as traders react to the re-escalation of the Middle East conflict and the related spike in crude oil prices that has again raised global inflation concerns. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

US forces repelled Iranian attacks while escorting two US-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the UAE reported intercepting cruise missiles launched by Iran and attributed a major fire that broke out at a major oil industry zone in the U.A.E. at its Fujairah port to a drone strike.

A social media post from the UAE's Defense Ministry said four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country. The Australian stock market is notably 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 below the 8,650 level, with weakness in mining stocks partially offset by gains in energy and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 52.70 points or 0.61 percent to 8,644.40, after hitting a low of 8,621.60 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 50.90 points or 0.57 percent to 8,872.90. Australian stocks ended modestly lower on Monday.

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

Oil stocks are higher. Woodside Energy is advancing almost 2 percent, Beach energy is gaining more than 1 percent and Santos is edging up 0.4 percent. Origin Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are edging up 0.2 to 0.4 percent each, while WiseTech Global is advancing more than 4 percent and Xero is adding more than 2 percent. Appen is losing almost 1 percent.

Gold miners are mostly weak. Evolution Mining is losing almost 2 percent, Northern Star resources is down almost 2 percent, Newmont is slipping almost 1 percent and Genesis Minerals is declining almost 3 percent, while Resolute Mining is gaining more than 1 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac are edging down 0.3 percent each, while National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each.

In economic news, the services sector in Australia swung sharply into expansion territory in April, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a services PMI score of 50.7. That's up from 46.3 in March and it moves above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. The survey also showed that the composite index climbed to 50.4 in April from 46.6 in March.

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 hike its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, to 4.35 percent from 4.10 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.716 on Tuesday.

The Japanese stock market is closed for Children's Day holiday on Tuesday. Japanese shares ended modestly higher on Friday ahead of the holiday on Monday.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 157-yen range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.2 to 0.9 percent each, while Indonesia is bucking the trend and is up 0.4 percent. South Korea is closed for Children's Day and China is closed for Labor Day. On Wall Street, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Monday after showing a lack of direction early in the session. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the Dow showing a notable decline.

The Dow slumped 557.37 points or 1.1 percent to 48,941.90, the S&P 500 fell 29.37 points or 0.4 percent to 7,200.75 and the Nasdaq dipped 46.64 points or 0.2 percent to 25,067.80.

The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. With the U.K. markets closed for a holiday, the German DAX Index slumped by 1.2 percent and the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.7 percent.

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues to hold oil transit, despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $4.00 or 3.92 percent at $105.94 per barrel.