Asian Markets Track Wall Street Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Wednesday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as surging bond yields and higher crude oil prices amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East stoked global inflation risks and rate-hike fears. Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday.

The U.S. launched another fresh wave of attacks on Iran, striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets, following the recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.

US President Donald Trump announced through Truth Social that the U.S. commenced large and powerful strikes on Iran in retaliation for its recent strikes against U.S. bases in Jordan.

The attacks hit targets along the southern coast of Iran in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Jask, Chabahar, Konarak, Minab, Sirik, and the island of Qeshm. Iran's military said the U.S. will regret its actions.

While Trump claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is fully under U.S. control, in a video message, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that the strait is in the full control of Iranian forces.

Meanwhile, CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows that investors are currently betting on a 67.20 percent chance of a 25-basis-point interest rate-hike later this month, while the odds on rates being held at the current level stand at 32.80 percent.

Australian shares are trading significantly lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 falling well below the 9,000 level, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with weakness in financial, mining and technology stocks partially offset by gains in energy stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 96.30 points or 1.06 percent to 8,970.40, after hitting a low of 8,935.10 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 107.40 points or 1.16 percent to 9,153.50. Australian stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are losing almost 3 percent each, while Fortescue is declining more than 2 percent and Rio Tinto is down more than 1 percent.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is tumbling more than 5 percent, Xero is losing more than 1 percent and Appen is declining more than 3 percent, while WiseTech Global and Zip are sliding almost 5 percent each.

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

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is slipping more than 4 percent and Newmont is declining more than 3 percent, while Genesis Minerals, Resolute Mining and Northern Star Resources are tumbling almost 5 percent each.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.714 on Wednesday.

The Japanese stock market is trading sharply lower on Wednesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei 225 is falling below the 64,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led by index heavyweights, exporters and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 64,473.16, down 1,742.18 points or 2.63 percent, after hitting a low of 64,234.31 earlier. Japanese stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is tumbling almost 5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is losing more than 1 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing more than 2 percent and Toyota is declining more than 3 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is losing more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is declining almost 4 percent and Screen Holdings is down almost 2 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is losing more than 1 percent, while Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial are down almost 1 percent each.

Among the major exporters, Mitsubishi Electric is slipping more than 3 percent, Panasonic is declining more than 4 percent, Canon is down more than 1 percent and Sony is losing almost 3 percent.

Among other major losers, Kyowa Kirin is plunging more than 10 percent, while Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Materials are tumbling almost 9 percent each. Mitsui Kinzoku and Murata Manufacturing are sliding almost 7 percent each, while Mercari and Dowa Holdings are slipping more than 6 percent each. TDK and Taiyo Yuden are declining more than 5 percent each, while Chubu Electric Power, Tokai Carbon and Sumitomo Heavy Industries are losing almost 5 percent each. Resonac Holdings and NEC are down more than 4 percent each.

Conversely, there are no other major gainers.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 160 yen-range on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is down 2.8 percent, while China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are lower by between 1.0 and 1.3 percent each. Singapore and Indonesia are down 0.1 percent each. New Zealand and Malaysia are up 0.1 percent each.

On Wall Street, stocks showed a more significant move to the downside during trading on Tuesday after moving moderately lower over the two previous sessions. The major averages all moved notably lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq slumped 271.11 points or 1 percent to 26,099.77, the Dow slid 419.02 points or 0.8 percent to 52,766.88 and the S&P 500 fell 54.67 points or 0.7 percent to 7,631.47. The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index declined by 0.3 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday after the U.S. launched another fresh wave of attacks on Iran following the recent exchange of strikes over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $4.27 or 4.98 percent at $90.03 per barrel.