Asian Markets Trade Mostly Lower

(RTTNews) - Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Tuesday, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, amid lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates, with some US Fed officials warning the central bank may still need to raise rates if inflation persists. Traders also seemed reluctant to make more significant bets ahead of the release of the minutes of the latest Fed meeting. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday.

While the likelihood interest rates will be lower by September remains high, the chances have fallen to 76.3 percent from close to 90 percent last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

The Australian stock market is slightly lower on Tuesday after opening in the green, giving up some of the gains in the previous session, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is staying below the 7,900 level, with weakness in iron ore miners and energy stocks are partially offset by gains in technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is losing 11.40 points or 0.15 percent to 7,852.30, after touching a high of 7,870.20 and a low of 7,844.40 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is down 8.90 points or 0.11 percent to 8,123.20. Australian stocks closed significantly higher on Monday.

Among the major miners, Rio Tinto is losing almost 1 percent, Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.4 percent and Mineral Resources is declining more than 1 percent, while BHP Group is edging up 0.5 percent.

Oil stocks are mixed. Origin Energy is edging up 0.2 percent, while Beach energy is losing almost 1 percent and Santos is edging down 0.1 percent. Woodside Energy is flat.

Among tech stocks, Afterpay owner Block and WiseTech Global are gaining more than 1 percent each, while Xero is adding almost 1 percent. Zip is losing more than 1 percent. Appen is flat.

Gold miners are mixed. Gold Road Resources and Resolute Mining are edging up 0.3 to 0.4 percent each, while Newmont and Northern Star resources are edging down 0.1 to 0.3 percent each. Evolution Mining is gaining almost 1 percent.

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

In other news, shares in Sonic Healthcare tumbled more than 10 percent after the diagnostics giant flagged lower-than-expected profit due to inflation and currency exchange headwinds.

Shares in James Hardie are also plunging almost 11 percent after the building products group's earnings guidance for fiscal 2025 came below expectations.

Shares in Star Entertainment are slipping more than 5 percent after Hard Rock International denied it is linked to any proposal. The struggling casino group said on Monday that it had received an approach from a related company.

In economic news, members of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Monetary Policy Board said that the country's economy was slowing and that inflation was declining less than expected, minutes from the central bank's May 7 meeting revealed on Tuesday. A higher cash rate may be necessary to slow the pace of disinflation, the bank said.

At the meeting, the RBA policy board left its benchmark interest rates unchanged, leaving the cash rate target at 4:35 percent. The board also retained the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances at 4.25 percent.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.665 on Tuesday.

Adding the gains in the previous session, the Japanese stock market is slightly higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 moving above the 39,100 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in some Index heavyweights and technology stocks.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index closed the morning session at 39,135.91, up 66.23 points or 0.17 percent, after touching a high of 39,346.15 earlier. Japanese shares ended significantly higher on Monday.

Market heavyweight SoftBank Group is edging up 0.5 percent and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing is edging up 0.4 percent. Among automakers, Honda is losing almost 1 percent and Toyota is edging down 0.2 percent.

In the tech space, Advantest is gaining more than 2 percent, Tokyo Electron is advancing almost 1 percent and Screen Holdings is edging up 0.1 percent.

In the banking sector, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial is edging down 0.1 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is losing almost 1 percent and Mizuho Financial is declining more than 2 percent.

The major exporters are mixed. Panasonic, Canon and Sony are edging down 0.1 to 0.5 percent each, while Mitsubishi Electric is edging up 0.1 percent. Among the other major gainers, MS&AD Insurance is skyrocketing almost 16 percent, Tokio Marine is surging almost 5 percent and Fujikura is gaining more than 4 percent, while ENEOS Holdings, Isetan Mitsukoshi, Tokyo Electric Power, Sharp, Alps Alpine, Disco and Mitsui Mining & Smelting are adding more than 3 percent each. NTN is advancing almost 3 percent.

Conversely, Sompo Holdings is losing 4.5 percent and Daikin Industries is down almost 4 percent, while Mercari, Shiseido, Sumitomo Pharma, Rakuten Group and T&D Holdings are declining almost 3 percent each.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading in the lower 156 yen-range on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is down 1.7 percent, while New Zealand, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan are lower by between 0.3 and 0.5 percent each. Indonesia is relatively flat.

On Wall Street, stocks moved in opposite directions over the course of the trading session on Monday after an early advance. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added to last week's strong gains, reaching a new record closing high, while the Dow gave back ground after closing above 40,000 for the first time last Friday.

The Nasdaq ended the day up 108.91 points or 0.7 percent at 16,794.87. The S&P 500 also crept up 4.86 points or 0.1 percent to 5,308.13, but the Dow fell 196.82 points or 0.5 percent at 39,806.77.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both climbed by 0.4 percent.

Crude oil prices settled lower on Monday, weighed down by concerns the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates higher for a longer time. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped to around $79.80, down $0.26 from the previous close.